Parliamentary Committee on Sanitation and Water Resources praises Prestea Huni Valley for using IGF to fund sanitation

The Chairman of Parliament’s Select Committee on Sanitation and Water Resources, Oti Kwabena Bless John, has commended the Prestea Huni Valley Municipal Assembly for its innovative use of Internally Generated Funds (IGF) to finance sanitation activities.

The Nkwanta North MP praised the Assembly during a public hearing in Takoradi on Friday, October 16, describing its decision to fund sanitation exercises with internally generated revenue as a commendable initiative that could help improve environmental cleanliness and public health.

He noted that the Assembly’s approach demonstrated a commitment to sanitation beyond the designated allocation from the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).

“This is the first time we have had a municipal assembly using part of its IGF,” Mr Oti Kwabena Bless John said, commending the Assembly for financing its National Sanitation Day activities through internally generated revenue.

He also highlighted the government’s allocation of funds to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to recruit sanitation workers and asked the Assembly to provide details of the number of sweepers employed and their monthly remuneration.

Member of the committee and MP for Salaga South, Ibrahimah Mohammed Zuwera, also praised the Assembly for its detailed presentation and commitment to environmental cleanliness.

She particularly commended the payment of sweepers and the use of IGF to support environmental sanitation activities, describing the initiative as a way of giving back to the community.

“In most areas, they are sweeping only on market days. So we commend you highly for that,” she said.

Despite the commendations, the Assembly’s Finance Officer, Thomas Ohene Dwira Asare, outlined several operational challenges affecting sanitation management and water safety in the municipality.

He said the Assembly lacked a bulldozer to clear accumulated refuse at some disposal sites, resulting in delays that posed environmental risks to residents.

“We do not have any bulldozer on our own, and it sometimes delays operations,” Mr Asare explained.

He said that although the Assembly had a contract with Waste Land for the management of its four final disposal sites, other heaps of refuse required attention beyond the scope of the existing arrangement.

According to him, the absence of suitable equipment had made it difficult for the Assembly to address these sanitation challenges promptly.

Mr Asare also raised concerns about possible water contamination in the municipality, which has significant mining activity.

He said the Assembly intended to conduct water quality tests, particularly to determine iron levels, before commissioning boreholes to ensure that the water was safe for consumption.

“Because we are in a mining community, most of our water is contaminated or polluted. So now we want to do water tests and check the iron levels before we even commission boreholes,” he said.

He called for technical assistance from the relevant sanitation authorities and other state agencies with the expertise to conduct the necessary tests.

The move, he said, would help protect residents from potential health risks associated with unsafe drinking water.

The Finance Officer further identified delays in the disbursement of the District Assemblies Common Fund as a major constraint on the Assembly’s operations.

He said releases were sometimes lower than budgeted, affecting quarterly payments to service providers and disrupting planned sanitation activities.

To sustain essential services, the Assembly had to supplement the available funds with internally generated revenue, placing additional pressure on its finances.

Mr Asare also cited the age and condition of the Assembly’s sanitation equipment as a concern, noting that its only skip truck used for refuse collection was more than ten years old.

He said the Assembly was making efforts to procure a replacement but faced difficult funding choices.

“If we want to assign the 10 per cent to even buy a skip truck, then it means that other activities are going to be left out,” he said.

Mr Asare also called for improvements to the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) to make it easier for assemblies to track and report sanitation expenditure.

He explained that the existing common fund reporting structure did not provide sufficiently specific codes for identifying sanitation-related spending.

As a result, the Assembly might have to maintain separate ledgers to track expenditure on sanitation activities accurately.

He urged the relevant authorities to consider introducing a dedicated sanitation expenditure code in GIFMIS to strengthen financial monitoring, accountability and reporting.

The public hearing provided an opportunity for the Parliamentary Select Committee to assess the Assembly’s use of sanitation funds, acknowledge its initiatives and identify the financial and logistical constraints affecting service delivery.

The Committee is expected to consider the concerns raised and make recommendations to support improvements in sanitation management and water safety in the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality.

By Ebenezer Atiemo