La Abafum-Kowe and Abese areas in the La Dade-Kotopon Municipal in the Greater Accra Region would benefit from the second phase of Water Access, Sanitation and Hygiene for Urban Poor (WASH-UP II) communities in Ghana.

The WASH-UP programme is to provide intervention to areas with improved water supply, basic sanitation infrastructure, hygiene promotion in households, schools, health centres and public places.

Other areas were governance and capacity building to support the delivery and management of WASH services in their communities and promotion of water and sanitation related businesses.

Launching the project, the La Mantse, Nii Kpobi Tettey Tsuru, expressed appreciation to the USAID, sponsors of the programme and Global Communities, formerly CHF International, for bringing the project to La and promised to intensify the campaign on the maintenance of high standards of environmental hygiene and sanitation.

He said access to water and sanitation had been identified as a major problem in the area which had necessitated the WASH-UP project to be constructed to increase equitable access to improved water supply and basic sanitation for the poor.

The La Mantse said it was about time residents of La took up the responsibility of ensuring a clean environment and urged the people to desist from dumping refuse in drains.

Mr Ebenezer Laye-Mensah, Capacity Building Specialist of CHF International, gave the assurance that within the next three years, 2012-2015, with funding from the USAID, the WASH-UP extension programme is expected to achieve the following such as, household and yard connections, installation of public water points and community managed piped schemes.

Construction of primary household and institutional latrines in schools and public places, development of businesses that promotes WASH activities, like public bath houses, water kiosks, hair dressing salons and vegetable gardening were some of the targets, he explained.

Mr Laye-Mensah said over the past three years of the WASH-UP Project,  Ayidiki, Avenor, Nima East, Kojokrom and New Takoradi in the Greater Accra and Western Regions had benefited with collaborated efforts of stakeholders.

“This goal is consistent with the intended results of the Health Status Improved Objectives under the USAID/Ghana strategic framework,” he continued.

Mr Charles Ashalley Dsane, Coordinating Director of LaDMA, said it was important for the public to understand that government alone could not address the enormous environmental problems hence the need for each one to become a little more conscious about his or her surroundings.

“There was a limit to the efforts of LaDMA, the biggest challenge rested on the people of La themselves and how they perceived issues of sanitation within their localities,” he said.

He said it was about time Ghanaians changed their attitude and adopt a positive character towards the environment to ensure good sanitation and save the government from spending so much money to control waste.

Opinion leaders of the beneficiary areas Nii Oteng Granaky I, and Nii Ako Okai, Abafum and Abese were present to grace the occasion.