PSS Urbania, a Ghanaian private consulting firm, organized a two-day stakeholders' workshop on the 3rd and 4th of February 2022 at Kenyasi in the Asutifi North District.The workshop was intended to allow the consultant to present preliminary findings of the environmental scan that was undertaken as part of efforts to develop an Emergency and Resiliency Plan for the ongoing ANAMWASH initiative.
In his openingremarks, the District Planning Officer, Mr. James Ata-Era, noted that the resiliency plan is part of the overall strategy of the district assembly to identify potential risks and devise mitigating measures to guarantee the success of the ANAM WASH project. He added that the training workshop would empower stakeholders to better understand their respective roles in the Masterplan implementation process.
Presenting findings from the environmental scan, a lead consultant from PSS Urbania indicated that public waste management in the District was poor, creating poor environmental conditions. The consultants commended the district assembly and its partners for frequently testing the quality of water they provide to communities. However, the consultant revealed that most private water service providers do not undertake water quality testing. The consultant proposed that the district assembly should take measures to enhance the operations of the Water and Sanitation Management teams. Similarly, the District needs to enact bye-laws to regulate the operations of private water facilities to ensure that they comply with the standards for public water provision.
Apesemakahene of Kenyasi No. 1, Nana C.K. Yeboah, appealed to the District Assembly to review the activities of the WSMTs that are managing piped systems to ensure that they have robust measures in place to collect revenue from water users.
The workshop attracted 60 participants, of which 35 were males, and 25 were females. Amongst them wereTraditional leaders, Assembly Members, CSOs, and Staff from the Asutifi North District Assembly.
