In spite of the Government's pledge to commit 0.5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to sanitation, the 2011 budget made provision for 0.1%, said CONIWAS Executive Secretary Benjamin Arthur. The government was also not fulfilling its promise to commit 200 million dollars every year towards water and sanitation activities beginning in 2011.
Published on: 14/07/2011
In spite of the Government's pledge to commit 0.5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to sanitation, the 2011 budget made provision for 0.1%, said Executive Secretary of the Coalition of NGOs in water and sanitation (CONIWAS), Benjamin Arthur. Ghana is one of the signatories of the 2008 eThekwini Declaration [1] in which 17 African governments pledged to allocate a minimum of 0.5% of GDP for sanitation and hygiene.
Arthur said despite the government's 2010 promise to commit 200 million dollars every year towards water and sanitation activities beginning in 2011, this year's budget did not reflect that commitment. At the current rate Arthur estimated it would take another 40 years for Ghana to attain the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) sanitation target of 54 per cent coverage.
Arthur was speaking at a sensitisation workshop on "The Right to Water and Sanitation" organised by WaterAid in Ghana and the Centre on Human Rights and Eviction (COHRE) for journalists in Accra.
The outcome of the workshop would be used an an input for a National Stakeholders Workshop and a National Action Plan.
You can track Ghana's progress on fulfilling its WASH commitments on WASHWatch.org
For an overview of countries that have included rights to water and sanitation in national law see www.righttowater.info
Related news: Ghana: country can exceed MDG target on sanitation, says Kamal Kar, E-Source, 16 Mar 2011
Source: GNA / Ghanaweb.com, 29 Jun 2011
