Ghana: Sanitation Equipment for KMA

Mr. Samuel Sarpong, Metropolitan Chief Executive of Kumasi, has commissioned the long awaited sanitation equipment procured by the Urban Environmental Sanitation Project II, and delivered to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to facilitate and complement solid waste collection in the metropolis.

The items are 36 out of a total 92 communal containers, 14 motorcycles, one Nissan Urvan bus with Public Address System, Sanitation Education campaigns and Public Health Education materials (including jingle, video documentary, posters and leaflets) one heavy duty excavator, one D7 bulldozer, two motor graders, and one low-loader (yet to be delivered).

He said at the commissioning that solid waste collection was one of the serious challenges confronting Metropolitan assemblies, and that KMA was no exception.

According to him, inadequate communal containers constituted one of the major and notorious headaches of the Assembly under the communal collection system, adding that other related environmental challenges, such as poor access roads within the communities, which impede smooth and effective waste collection service delivery, and siltation of primary and secondary drains leading to frequent flooding.

He further described the attitude of the public towards environmental sanitation, such as the indiscriminate dumping of waste and littering, with its attendant public health hazards, as another significant challenge.

The Mayor disclosed that the problem of inadequate communal containers had been reduced to the barest minimum, if not completely eradicated, and that the poor access roads and silted drains would see a significant level of improvement from now on.

The KMA boss said the Assembly had recently left no stone unturned towards ensuring satisfactory environmental sanitation delivery by setting in motion effective strategies, notable among, which is the pay-as-you-dump scheme, with the view to mobilising financial resources from local sources to support the sustainable financing of waste management services.

Mr. Sarpong emphasised that the KMA would not be complacent, but go the extra mile to further improve upon solid waste collection services to prevent the possibility of an outbreak of cholera.

He also commended the government for the supply of the equipment, and assured residents of Kumasi that the sustenance of the cleanest city status would be vigorously pursued.