Author: Kwaku GhanaMPs

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Sissala East Issahaku Chinnia Amidu said lawmakers have a major role to play in terms of educating their constituents on issues around sanitation and also ending open defecation.

According to him it became clearer when he made a statement on the floor of the House to mark World Toilet Day that MPs need to be involved actively in the crusade against open defecation.

In an interview as to whether in the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area, Sanitation and Water Project (GKMA SWP) MPs are involved, he noted that MPs are members of the Assembly concept and if things are to work according to law and rightly so, there cannot be activities at the Assembly without the involvement of the MP.

“We are human, you will find some MMDCs working in isolation from the MP and that is a bit problematic because the normal thing is that the MP is a member of the Assembly and represents the interest of the constituents. When there is a project that benefits the people and you want to implement it successfully you should involve the MP”, he said.

The Deputy Sanitation and Water Resources Minister further pointed out that the essence of the statement he made on the floor of the House is for the MPs to do advocacy and further added that two- point- five billion people across the globe do not have access to descent toilet facilities.

And in Ghana, over 18 percent of Ghanaians still indulge in open defecation which is quite a huge number; and as MPs go back to their constituencies, “I hope they will add it to their message and going forward we will appeal to the Assemblies to get MPs involve”.

Their voices are stronger because they are elected officials of the constituencies, so if you want your project to be implemented well in the constituency you need to get the MP involved; MMDCEs alone cannot do it well, get the MP involved, he emphasized.

He also assured that they will provide the leadership as a Ministry by bridging the gap between the chief executives and the MPs.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Deputy Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources Issahaku Chinnia Amidu has said good sanitation practice in Ghana will save Ghana two hundred and seventy million dollars yearly.

According to him we need to ensure that every household has a toilet facility and as a Ministry that is what they are doing in collaboration with the various Assemblies and other stakeholders.

In an interview with Ghanamps.com after he presented a statement on the floor of the House on Tuesday, November 16, 2022 to mark the world international toilet day set aside by the UN, he noted that the Assemblies need to enforce their bylaws to ensure every household has a toilet.

“We will also be collaborating with the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to do enforcement of the law on sanitation, where we can prosecute; you cannot build a nice house in Ghana and not have toilet facilities”.

He further noted that there are some compound houses in the country with about 10 to 20 tenants who pay rents regularly to the landlords, but the landlords failed to build toilet facilities in the house for the tenants. “I mean it is disappointing; we have to enforce the law”.

The Deputy Minister emphasised the need for advocacy because there are a lot of households without toilets and they engage in open defecation which behavior comes with dire consequences that may include outbreak and spread of diseases.

There is also high expenditure on health care related to sanitation and water borne diseases, hence the UN set November 19th every year for us to observe it as world toilet day which we can do advocacy and let people appreciate the importance of having toilet in our homes, he stated.

He said this advocacy cannot be done without the involvement of MPs who represent the various constituencies. “As a Ministry, we expect that MPs will do the advocacy in their various constituencies and let the people appreciate the importance of having toilet”.

Again, he asserts that one does not need to wait for government to provide toilet but because of the low income areas government cannot leave them behind in the sanitation drive, “that is why government is taking steps to help Ghanaians in lower income areas by supporting in the building of toilet facilities in Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi.

The Member of Parliament for Sissala East in a statement on the floor of the House noted that the theme for this year’s commemoration is “Sanitation and Groundwater” with campaign tag “Making the Invisible Visible”.

This theme was carefully selected to drum home the direct correlation between Sanitation and Groundwater sources.
Juxtaposing this theme with the fact that a whopping 18% of households in Ghana still practice open defecation or do not have access to toilets at all, should be a major concern for all well-meaning Ghanaians.

“Mr. Speaker, It is interesting to note that just one gram of faeces can contain 10 million viruses, a million bacteria, a thousand cysts and a hundred worm eggs. The impact of poor or non-existent toilet facilities on people’s health, their quality of life, their dignity and their income, is overwhelming. This makes safe disposal of human faeces a key concern for all.

Mr. Speaker, although the sanitation crisis comes from a set of complex causes, the prime reason is that nobody likes to talk about toilets, and too few nations and local governments give sanitation the priority it deserves. What the sanitation challenge needs is leadership: politicians and decision makers, the international community, religious authorities, businesses, media, and local communities need to learn, speak out and act on issues of sanitation”.

He said it is undeniable fact that, Ghanaians are paying a high price for lack of toilets in their homes. Ghana loses over US$290 million every year according to Water and Sanitation Programme of the World Bank 2012 study titled ‘’Economic Impacts of Poor Sanitation in Ghana’’. Economic cost of open defecation to Ghana is also pegged at US$79 million. Improved sanitation could save families and individuals a lot of income and time and hence improve their livelihood and give them economic empowerment.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Minority in Parliament has warned of dire consequences for health delivery in the country if urgent steps are not taken by government to settle outstanding debts to the National Health Insurance Scheme.

They insist that the current situation of owing claims far above the statutory limits cannot be acceptable under these precarious economic situations and urged government to as a matter of urgency, revert to the regular and reliable schedules as envisioned in the NHIA Act and report to parliament as required.

The Minority contend that recent development from stakeholders attest to the fact that all is not well with the health sector, stating that the Private Health Facilities Association of Ghana has threatened in a statement to pass on top-up payments to NHIS clients within their facilities. This, they claim is due to extensive delays in the payment of claims by the NHIA, the Ghana Cedi Depreciation and the rising inflation on drugs and non-medical consumables.

“Unconfirmed reports suggest that some facilities have already started passing on these top-up costs to their patients”.
“On the 19″ of October this year, a joint press statement was issued by the Ghana National Chamber Of Pharmacy (GNCOP), The Pharmaceutical Manufacturers And The Pharmaceutical Importers & Association Of Ghana (PMAG), Wholesalers Association Of Ghana (PIWA) warning all concerned that they were no longer going to give credit to health facilities” citing the unprecedented levels of inflation and the non-payment of claims by the NHIA as reasons for which they are withdrawing all credit lines to health facilities.

Ranking Member on the health Committee, Kwabena MInta Akandoh addressing the media said the joint statement by these groups should have seen some appropriate actions from government such as transferring to the NHIF all outstanding collections of NHIL and SSNIT contributions as mandated by the National Health Insurance Act 2012 (Act 852) Section 52(1). But this intervention never happened.

“Unfortunately, there rather seems to be an unwavering effort to collapse the National Health Insurance Scheme by depriving it of funds. As we speak, the highest release of NHIL levies collected was in 2016 when 86% of collections were released to the NHIA. The lowest on record is that of last year where government out of the GHS2.056bn it collected paid only GHS 127m or 6.2% to the NHIA fund. We have issued several statements calling on the Minister for Finance to release National Health Insurance Levies and the component of SSNIT contributions meant for the scheme to the National Health Insurance Fund all to no avail. After several weeks, the Private Health Facilities Association of Ghana have also threatened to pass on top-up payments to NHIS clients who use their facilities. This foreboding news wreaks fear in the hearts of many who frequent healthcare facilities across the country”.

The Minority asserts that under the current economic conditions more Ghanaians, than ever before, will require the National Health insurance Scheme to finance their medical needs. “It is therefore unconscionable for government to hold on to monies collected in the name of the NHIA rendering it incapable of meeting its obligations to service providers”

If nothing is done, we foresee high mortality rates among patients who lack the resources to pay for the services of healthcare providers or delay presentation at health facilities, He added.

They described as appropriate the demand for the National Health Insurance Authority to clear at least 6 months of submitted claims and provide one month’s reimbursement every month but want to caution the finance minister to as a matter of urgency release all collections of NHIL to the National Health Insurance Fund without delay.

Meanwhile, the Minority has pleaded with manufacturers, importers and wholesalers of pharmaceuticals and private health service providers to delay the imposition of top-up costs to reduce mortality and morbidity even as they try to engage government on this matter.

Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com

President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) Dr. Joseph Kwaku Obeng has said the association is not political as being perceived by some Ghanaians due to the conduct of some of its members whenever there is change of governments.

According to him the fact that some of its members at Abosokai who are predominantly NPP supporters and chose to reduce their prices for NPP coming to power does not make GUTA politically affiliated.

And the same way when NDC wins power you go to Ho market or Tamale market because predominantly they are NDC supporters, they also jubilate does not make the association NDC.

Dr. Joseph Obeng who lamented over the fact that the Association is painted with political colours made this remarks on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 when the association met with the Committee on Trade  Industry and Tourism in Parliament to discuss the way forward in the wake of price hikes and high inflation rates that makes doing business difficult.

 Present at the meeting were Association of Ghana Industries and Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Michael Okyere Baafi, who was also present at the engagement was happy with the stakeholders’ engagement and noted that the meeting was fruitful and encourages more interaction between the Committee and industry players.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, has dismissed suggestions that the current economic crisis in Ghana was mainly caused by the war between Russian and Ukraine.

Addressing the Ad Hoc Committee on the motion of censure against the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, the Tamale South MP, said the “reckless borrowing” and “reckless spending” by the Finance Minister are the cause of Ghana’s woes.

“Did you borrow to support the war in Ukraine,” Mr Iddrisu asked, arguing that, it was because of Ofori-Atta’s recklessness that caused Ghana’s economic woes.

His comment was in response to a remark made by the co-chairman of the Committee, K.T Hammond, who suggested that Mr Ofori-Atta cannot be entirely blamed for the country’s financial crisis.

The public hearing of the committee on the censure motion against Mr Ofori Atta kicked off on a rough note Tuesday morning after clashes between the Minority and Majority members on the committee on the mode of the submission of evidence.

Even before being sworn in, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu and Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, who were the first to appear before the committee, wished to tender evidence which was contested by the Chairman, KT Hammond and some majority members.

Ghanamps.com