The Member of Parliament for Ahanta West, Hon. Mavis Kuukua Bissue, has issued a strong call for urgent and coordinated efforts to address Ghana’s ongoing sanitation crisis, the growing issue of homelessness, and the rapid expansion of slums.
In a statement presented to Parliament on Tuesday, February 18, Hon. Bissue stressed the alarming statistics from the 2021 Population and Housing Census, revealing that only 51.4% of urban households have their solid waste collected, and 34.1% lack access to proper toilet facilities.
She also cited a 2024 Ghana Statistical Service survey, which found that 25% of households still practice open defecation.
“The state of sanitation in Ghana remains deeply troubling. After 67 years of independence, it is unacceptable that only a quarter of our population has access to safe, basic sanitation infrastructure,” she lamented.
Hon. Bissue also referenced the cholera outbreak in Ahanta West between October and December 2024, which infected 345 people and led to four deaths.
Despite increased budget allocations to the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources—from GH₵360 million in 2020 to GH₵374 million in 2023—she lamented that Ghana continues to struggle with poor sanitation.
Beyond sanitation, the MP stressed that homelessness, unemployment, and rapid rural-urban migration are fueling slum proliferation and worsening public health risks.
“We cannot win the war against poor sanitation unless we address the root causes—homelessness, streetism, and unplanned urbanization,” she declared.
Call to action
To tackle these interconnected issues, Hon. Bissue proposed a series of bold measures:
- A National Dialogue on Rural-Urban Migration and Economic Empowerment – She urged the government to initiate an annual forum bringing together civil society, traditional leaders, businesses, and policymakers to address migration trends and economic opportunities in rural areas.
- Affordable Rural Housing Initiatives – She recommended developing low-cost housing with essential amenities on a hire-purchase basis to encourage rural residents to remain in their communities.
- National Waste Segregation and Recycling Drive – She called for a large-scale public awareness campaign on waste segregation, which could expand Ghana’s recycling industry while improving sanitation.
- Public-Private Partnerships for Sanitation Infrastructure – She encouraged increased collaboration between the government and private sector to mobilize resources for large-scale sanitation projects.
- Stricter Law Enforcement – She pressed for stronger enforcement of sanitation laws, including penalties for violations to deter indiscriminate waste disposal.
- Youth Employment in Sanitation Services – She proposed programs to engage young people in waste management as a viable business opportunity.
- Installation of Public Litter Bins – To combat littering, she recommended placing designated waste bins in strategic public spaces across the country.
The Ahanta West MP emphasized that tackling these issues requires a unified effort from all stakeholders.
“With education, enforcement, investment in infrastructure, and economic empowerment, we can build a cleaner, healthier, and more prosperous Ghana,” she stressed.
By Osumanu Al-Hassan/thenewsbulletin24.com