Sanitation and Water Resources Minister Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah has commended the Turkish government for the various projects in Ghana particularly the completion of the Akyem Oda Water project which is a great relief to the people. However, according to the Sector Minister, the people in the community cannot access the water because the pipe lines have not been laid. Ghana Water Company is therefore sourcing for funds to lay the pipelines and connect it to the people.
Consequently, Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah advised that future collaboration plans should into consideration all the relevant aspects of the projects to make it complete.
Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah stated this when she received the Turkish Ambassador Her Excellency Ozkm Ergin at her office when the latter paid a courtesy call on her on Wednesday February 20, 2019 to discuss areas of cooperation and evaluate existing projects.
Sustainable use of Water. Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah noted that the main focus of every activity relating to water should be directed to the sustainable use of water. She said water is now becoming a scarce commodity worldwide and therefore there is the need for the prudent use of the resources.
Transfer of Technology. Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah asked Turkey to consider the transfer of technology to Ghana to build the country’s industrialization program especially in the light of the 1D1F (One District, One Factory) programme. She said this will create employment for the youth and build their capacity. Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah indicated that Ghanaian youth are hard working. All that they need is support.
On Galamsey: Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah stated that the quality of our water bodies (resources) has improved significantly following the interventions put in place by government to address the issue. She said a committee would be out in place to ascertain the current level of turbidity.
Sanitation. Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah said the major challenge in the sanitation sector is how to manage the waste and the ministry is coming out with strategies to tackle the challenge.
Engineering of landfill sites. Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah stated that Agbogbloshie and other places will be engineered; and to this end, a lot of companies have expressed interest in providing funds for the project.
Waste is wealth. Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah reiterated her call on the youth and companies to explore opportunities in the waste sector because waste is wealth and has a lot of prospects. She hoped the tenure of the Ambassador will see more cooperation between Ghana and Turkey.
The Ambassador H.E. Ozkm Ergin commended Ghana for taking the necessary steps towards achieving the SDGs. She pledged the support of Turkey I the developmental projects of Ghana.
By Nelson Kofi Akatey