By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ZAKMUS enterprise and a philanthropist, Mr. Zakaria Cobbina, popularly known as Zakmus has appealed to the management of the various Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs), to reduce bureaucratic barriers hindering the grant of permits for the construction of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities in public toilets.
Mr. Cobbina, made the call when addressing a gathering at the commissioning and handing over of a 30-seater water closet toilet, bathrooms and sanitary facilities, and a Mosque to the people of Ashiaman-Tulaku in the Ashiaman Municipality in the Greater Accra region.
Aside from the WASH facility and the Mosque, a 40-bed hostel for Kayayes and traveling traders operating in and around the Ashiaman Market was also commissioned.
The commissioning was done by the Municipal Chief Executive of the Ashiaman Municipal Assembly, Mr. Albert Boakye Okyere.
The facility has a well-furnished office which male and female attendants would operate from. Additionally, there are spaces where toiletries and other stationery that would be used at the facilities could be kept safely with handwashing facilities to promote the culture of handwashing among residents of Tulaku.
The CEO of ZAKMUS hinted that it is sometimes very frustrating when his team puts in a request for a permit to construct WASH facilities in some MMDAs. “I have constructed similar facilities at Agbogbloshie, Kasoa, and other areas to support the government’s sanitation agenda,” he added
Speaking at the short but colorful ceremony to officially commission the project, Mr. Boakye Okyere commended the CEO of ZAKMUS enterprise for putting up a search facility to compliment the assembly’s efforts to address the unsanitary conditions in an area that was once noted as an Open defecation zone.
He explained that sanitation is critical to the development of the nation, hence the commitment by the Government and its partners to dedicate resources to finding solutions to the challenges of sanitation in the country which is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Goals; Goal Six ‘‘CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION.’’ The goal enjoins all nations to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by the year 2030.
The MCE indicated that a major challenge facing the sanitation sector is inadequate provision of household and public places of convenience leading to open defecation.
He added that the 30-seater water closet toilet, bathrooms and sanitary facility provided by the private individual sits well in line with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo-led government’s national agenda to avoid open defecation.
Mr. Boakye Okyere pleaded with the community to see the project as their property and take care of it.
He also cautioned the residents living in and around the Ashiaman Municipality to embark on activities that promote good hygiene practices to avoid the outbreak of sickness in the community as well as to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water anytime they visit the toilet.
The elders and residents of the community thanked Mr. Cobbina, for such a wonderful project in their community as they have been in dire need of toilet facilities for so many years – a situation that has forced them to engage in open defecation.
They pledged their commitment to maintaining the facility to achieve its intended purposes.
