News:
December 17, 2025
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Sanitation and Water Resources, John Oti Bless, has advocated for the establishment of a dedicated national fund to tackle Ghana’s persistent environmental challenges.
Speaking in an interview, Mr. Bless detailed the committee’s recent oversight activities, having visited five of the sixteen regions: Eastern, Northern, Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Oti. He stated that their national tour would resume after the parliamentary recess.
He revealed that a uniform and critical challenge was identified across all regions visited: a severe shortage of environmental health staff. According to the Chairman, many qualified environmental health officers remain unposted for up to four years, leaving districts without essential leadership.
“The critical issue is the lack of staff—specifically Environmental Health Directors—while we have qualified people at home who have not been posted for the past four years,” Mr. Bless stated.
He noted that the committee has formally recommended, through the Ministry of Local Government, the urgent posting of these officers to help manage the sanitation situation.
Drawing comparisons to other nations, the Chairman emphasised the strategic importance of sanitation. “In countries like South Africa, Singapore, and Rwanda, their national development is closely tied to sanitation. It appears we are not prioritising it to the same degree,” he said.
Consequently, he said, the committee is urging the government and the public to refocus attention on environmental and sanitation issues.
To ensure a coordinated national effort, Mr. Bless proposed the creation of a central governing body. “There is a need to establish a dedicated institution, such as a National Sanitation Authority. Rwanda has such a body in place. For Ghana, this could also create over a million jobs,” he concluded.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso / Ghanamps.com