Sanitattion and Water Resources Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, on Wednesday inspected the Bankuman and Ashaiman Sewerage network sanitation projects to ascertain the progress of work on the facilities.
The GH¢5.7 million and GH¢21 million projects are expected to provide 800 and 4,800 households with sewage facilities as part of government policy to enhance sanitation in those communities.
The Ashaiman project involves the construction of a new simplified sewerage network in Ashaiman Newtown and the rehabilitation of an existing sewerage network in the TDC Quarters.
It comes with the reconstruction of an abandoned 1970s sewage treatment pond to increase the treatment capacity with the treated effluent expected to be disposed off in the Gbemi stream for irrigation purposes.
At 21 per cent complete, over 24,000 people would benefit from the project.
The Bankuman project, in the Tema Metropolis, involves the laying of new collector sewer lines, rehabilitation of existing trunk sewer lines and construction of a new sewage treatment plant that will connect people in the Bankuman community where faecal sludge shall be treated before discharging into the sea.
Over 6,000 residents in the largely fishing community are envisaged to benefit from the 30 per cent completed facility.
Addressing the media in Ashaiman after the inspection exercise, Madam Cecilia Dapaah was happy at the pace of work and hoped the December 2020 deadline would be met.
According to her, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, government intends to replicate the Bankuma and Ashaiman projects in other communities which don’t have a central sewage system.
“We are looking forward to more areas being hooked on to good sewerage system,” said said.
No government post Dr Kwame Nkrumah, she said, has endeavoured to effectively tackle the sewerage system in the country, leaving the existing ones to deteriorate, citing the Tema Sewage system as an example.
“We have in our manifesto the mantra of affordable portable water and good sanitation for all Ghanaians so we will not rest on our ores. We want to achieve more for the people to be healthy,” she stated.
She urged the citizenry to continue keeping the environments clean and continue to observe the Covid-19 protocols.
FROM JULIUS YAO PETETSI, BANKUMAN
