It was among the 21 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the country that prequalified for the “Duapa Award” under the Sanitation Challenge for Ghana (SC4Gh) Project.

The SC4Gh Project which is in its second phase and now dubbed “the Dignified City Award “is aimed at inducing MMDAs in the country to partner with the private sector and academic institutions to design and implement liquid waste management strategies to help accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.

The Kassena-Nankana Municipal which is the only municipality in the Upper East Region selected once again for the phase two of the project is expected to compete among other selected 16 MMDAs for the Dignified Award. 

The IRC Ghana is into Water, Sanitation and Hygiene and is the lead local implementing agency of the Sanitation Challenge for Ghana project and is supporting the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) to implement the project with funding from the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID).

It would reward the best performing Assembly with 1.43 million pounds as a prize whilst others would also receive consolation prizes depending on their performances.

Briefing the IRC progress monitoring team and some Journalists about the progress of implementation of the project, Mr Andani Iddrisu, the Municipal Planning Officer of the Assembly, told the team that the Assembly had intensified its efforts at tackling liquid waste management and other waste related problems.

He said the Assembly had gone into partnership with the Liquid Waste Field Company Limited, a Company which had the capacity in solid waste management to secure 20 hectares of land at Gingania, a community in the Municipality, to construct liquid waste disposal site where liquid and other wastes would be disposed off.

“For the first time in the history of the Assembly, the annual budget for sanitation particularly solid waste management for the year 2017 has been increased significantly.  In fact, it is among one of the highest estimates. The Assembly is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that it works with a lot of private partners including the academic institutions to help address the liquid waste challenges in the Municipality,” he said.

The Municipal Planner said plans were also far advanced by the Assembly with other private partners to encourage and support households in the area to construct 100 household toilet facilities and a 10-seater flush toilet at the Navrongo lorry park among other activities.

Mr Abubakari Shani Wumbei, the Communication, Learning and Advocacy Coordinator of IRC Ghana, said it was regrettable that only 15 per cent of households in Ghana could boast of having good sanitation facilities while majority of the people defecated in the open.

The IRC progress monitoring team and the group of the Journalists, prior to the briefing, were conducted around the 20 hectares land site at Gingania which is being worked on by the Assembly in collaboration with the Liquid Waste Field Company Limited. The team also visited the solid waste management site at Pungu.