$300,000 For Novel Water Projects

The African Water Association says it has received a $300,000 from the USAID to fund innovative water projects on the continent.

Young professionals, who will promote ground-breaking projects, intend to reduce water-related problems and address water loses experienced by water companies on the continent.

Sylvian Usher, General Secretary of the African Water Association, made this known in Abidjan at an on-going five-day workshop on Water Financing and Protection of Water Resources in West Africa.

Approved projects will each receive between $2000 and $10,000 and the money would go to the national water company in that country for disbursement to any young person who comes up with such a project.

“The programme is for youth between 18 and 35 years. They must be professionals in the water sector either working with a ministry or water agency in their respective countries. Youth studying in the water sector can also come forward.  Because we do not want the money to go to some individuals, we want them to belong to a national committee that would coordinate the projects, We see a lot of enthusiasm from the youth.”

So far, countries such as Senegal, Mali, Togo among others have established national committees.
He therefore invited countries, which have not set up the national committees to do so, as the programme is aimed at addressing water problems.

“Ghana is yet to submit its youth constitution on the project. And we know that there are a number of promising youth who will come up with very good projects.”

He noted that there are about 900 million people on the African continent, who do not have access to water while 600 million people have potable water.

He said Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and Kenya were the first three countries to set up national committees.

“But we have about eight national committees now, most of them from West Africa and we hope that we will kick off when we have about 10 countries.”

It is hoped that in February 2014 during the African Water Forum slated for Abidjan, the proposals would be approved.

He said out of 55 countries on the continent only 35 are members of the association.
“We want to cover the whole continent and I urge countries which are not members to come on board.”

 

 By Emelia Ennin Abbey

Paying Water Bills Without Recieving Service

Cisse Hamma, is a 60-year-old man who lives at Houphouet Boigny, a community in the Koumassi Municipality of Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, the third largest settlement of the country who has been trying for months to get the local water company to stop sending him bills.

The old man who is a member of the Koumassi Municipal Council, located about five minutes’ drive from the airport and the business centre of Cote D’Ivoire popularly referred to as Plateau, does not understand why he receives monthly bills from SODECI, the company with monopoly over supply of water in the urban parts of the country “even though my tape is always dry.”

Like most residents in the Houphouet Boigny community which was named after the first president of Cote D’Ivoire, who have subscribed to water supply at a fee, Mr Hamma’s tap has been dry over the past six months.

Stand pipes with no water flowing through them is a common site in the densely populated Houphouet Boigny community where residents have to depend on neighbouring communities for water.

“I paid money to SODECI, the water company to be connected to potable water supply system and to help me get easy access to water in my home,” said the unhappy man, “but now I can see that the money was a waste.”

Because water has not been flowing through the tap of the 60-year –old man for the past months he is compelled to give his wife and children money which they intend use to buy water from a distant community.

“I have to buy water,” he said “and yet at the end of the month a receive water bills and then I have to go to the office and pay.”

Depending on the reading of the water meter which has been fixed in front of the house of Mr Hamma by SODECI, he pays a monthly tariff of 2000 CFA and 3000 CFA an equivalent of about $3 and $4.

“The SODECI officers come and read the meter all the time and they bring me a bill which they expect me to pay even though they know they have not provided me with water for some time now,” said the angry man who further states that “when you complain their only excuse is that they have a maintenance problem”.

Mr Hamma explains that the Houphouet Boigny community has not experienced regular water supply since it was connected to the main water system.

Before the taps became dry “the water was only flowing at mid night sometimes and it only flows for a few hours.”

As a result of this, Mr Hamman said residents had no option than to keep watch because there is no schedule or information from SODECI on when water should be expected.

“So we leave our taps on and also keep wake to get a few buckets of water.”

Teilo Serablun, a retiree living in quartier zero cinq another community in the Kuomassi Municipality complained about the high water bills even though there is no regular supply of water.

The man who is also the leader of quartier zero cinq said the residents have no option than pay the high tariffs because “if you do not pay the company will disconnect you from the system and take away the meter.”

He explains that residents want to avoid the instance of being disconnected because of the consequences of paying another huge amount to be reconnected when your meter is taken away.

Kouadio Aboa, first Deputy Mayor of the Kuomassi Municipality confirms that access to potable water is one of the biggest challenges of the over 500,000 residents.

He said most of the communities are not connected to the water system and they have to depend on the other communities which have water even though there is always water shortage.

He explained that the provision of water is in the hands of the government which had entered an agreement with a private water company SODECI to supply the water on its behalf. “The annual 250 million CFA budget support from government is meant for investment project and not for water,” he said.

“It’s a worry to see women getting up early in the morning and walking long hours to get water for the home while children have to miss school hours because of lack of water but we do not have the means,” the man who is only a few months old in office stated.

“We hope more financing would be committed to the provision of water facilities and the supply of water to domestic homes.”   

Gosso Francios Olivier, Director of Production at SODECI, the water company responsible for the supply of water in urban settlements like Kuomassi, said the demand of water is soaring while the facilities which were installed since 1980 but has seen little upgrading does not have the capacity to meet the growing demand.

He said his company has the capacity to produce water for 65 per cent of the entire Abidjan population but it currently able to serve 52 per cent of its subscribers representing about 380,000 households.

Last year, he said the company produces a total of 140 cubic meters of water from its underground water sources.

The water is sourced from 80 meter deep from underground and with the help of pumps and pipes of about 140 millilitres diameter water is propelled into four large opened treatment tanks where chemicals are added as part of the purification process.

After this the water is then filtered and then pumped into similar large tanks which are covered.

Finally, the water goes through testing in a laboratory to ensure it is safe to drink and when the scientist gives it a nod 200 cubic meters of water is pumped every hour though electricity powered structure through a transmission system to the final consumers.

Currently the company produces 19,000 cubic meters of water daily from 90 drilling wells spread across urban centre.

Mr Gosso said an analysis carried out has indicated that there is between four and five billion cubic meters of water underground yet to be taped.

“We have no water resource problem. As a country we have the water bodies and underground water the problems lies with how to mobilise enough funds to put in place the facilities and processes to ensure the people get drinkable water,” said Mr Gosso when he toured journalists around a water treatment plant in Djibi, Abidjan which he said cost 20 billion CFA to put up.

Kantamanto Traders Scramble For Stalls

There was confusion at the Odawna Pedestrian Shopping Mall near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle as hundreds of traders affected by the recent fire at the Kantamanto Market invaded the previously deserted market.

The scramble for space was characterized by verbal exchanges and sporadic exchange of blows by men and women.

According to reports, the affected traders, who were armed with hammers, shovels, cement blocks, ply woods, tables, chairs, cloths and other materials, the affected traders, moved to the Odawna Market to secure sheds.

The traders, who mostly sell second-hand clothing, foot wear, belts, ear rings, accessories, cosmetics dealers, clashed with each other in their bid to secure wooden stalls constructed by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) at a cost of over GH¢2 million at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

In 2007, when the project, which was jointly sponsored by the central government and the Assembly, was completed, it had space to accommodate over 4000 traders but a portion was occupied while a large area, popularly called ‘Tuobodom by the traders, was deserted.

When CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE visited the Odawna Market yesterday, it was revealed that some traders at Kantamanto Market, who previously purchased some stalls, had abandoned them.

After several announcements, a source close to the AMA, who spoke to the paper on condition of anonymity, noted that “the stalls were reallocated, but the stalls at the Tuobodom areas have still not been occupied by their owners who either had shops in the Central Business District or were traders at Kantamanto and other places.”

As a result of this development, there was disorder at the Odwana Market as some owners struggled for stores.

Elizabeth Owusu, a second-hand underwear and cloths dealer, who claimed to have document covering one of the shops, told the paper that she lost her wares in the inferno at Kantamanto.

“I was informed that government intends to rebuild the place but I know that would take a very long time to complete so I came here only to find out that another person is claiming ownership of my stall.”

Though she claimed she had documents, another young man, Prince Dompreh alleged that he was the rightful owner and that he could prove it.

While the fight over ownership ensured in many of the shops, other people, who had two or more shops, were busily renting out their property.

In line with this, a stall, which went for GH¢8 a month, is now being hired between GH¢15 and GH¢20 a month.

Some owners demanded GH¢300 in some cases depending on the location of the stall.

Personnel of the AMA taskforce were seen clearing the debris at the market while business was rife for carpenters, masons and electricians who were preparing the place.

http://www.dailyguideghana.com/?p=82087

By Emelia Ennin Abbey

CSOs Debriefed On Climate Change Talks

KASA Ghana, a lead advocate in natural resources and environmental governance has organised a debriefing meeting for Civil Society Organisation on the eighteenth conference on Climate Change held in Doha, Qatar.

The conference which was held from November 26 to December 7, 2012 was attended by government officials, experts, civil society players from across the globe with a hope of reaching the climate deal the world desperately needed.

Among others, governments were to deliver a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol starting January 1, 2013, increase mitigation commitments, adopt a roadmap that leads to a legally binding global climate deal no later than 2015, commit financially to the Green Climate Fund and set up a framework to protect the world’s forests

Yet at the end of the talks many participants were disappointed as concrete agreements were not reached on the need to increase the speed and scale of international efforts to cut carbon pollution.

During the debriefing in Accra, the representatives of civil society organizations in natural resources and environment discussed issues brought up at the conference, evaluated the international negotiations and looked at how Ghana’s role could be increased in future.

Kyekyeku Yaw Oppong-Boadi, UN Climate Change Focal Point for Ghana and Deputy Director of the Environmental Protection Agency in a brief overview of the outcomes of the COP18 from the perspectives of the government delegation which was led by the Minster of Environment Science and technology noted that Ghana lent its support to the African ministerial team.

He explained that the support was to ensure that the interest of Ghana was reflected in the negotiations.

Mr Oppong-Boadi noted that Ghana expected balance of resources to address Climate Change to feature prominently in order to get adequate funding for projects and mitigation initiatives.

“Climate change is imparting some essential sectors such as Agriculture and we were expecting the advanced countries who are described as the Annex 1 countries to make a commitment on reducing emission of green house gases. Yet, at the end even when we asked for the commitment period to start from five years the developed countries agreed on 8 years,” Mr Oppong-Boadi said.

The Executive Director of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Daniel Amlalo in a speech read on his behalf urged the Civil Society Organizations to identify areas of follow up for actions to be taken for the good of humanity.

“Lots of developing countries think the negotiation did not go as expected,” he said but added that the EPA was ready to collaborate with other institutions to champion the environmental agenda.

He noted that civil society organizations played a critical role in safeguarding and protecting the environment.

The CEO of Friends of the Earth Ghana, George Awudi, who attended the conference, stated that the number of participants over the years has been reducing “and it is perceived that the importance attached to the conference is weaning.”

He attributed it to the domineering perspective of the developed countries: “At the end of the day the decisions taken and the developed countries dominate.”

Mr Duka observed that there was a lack of political will to address climate change especially on matters of green gas emissions, global warming “and we forget that African is most vulnerable.”

“Any impact of Climate Change globally affects Africans, as we are the ones who feel it most and its subsequent implications.”

Programmes Coordinator of KASA-Ghana, Zakaria Yakubu mentioned that there was the need to establish a national level partnership forum on Climate Change.

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“We need to have a Ghana position ahead of preparations to the Conference of Parties,” he said.
He also urged the CSO to come up with a programme of action on Climate Change and also track the allocation and flow of resources from both the international and national levels.
 By Emelia Ennin Abbey

Floods Endanger Health of Senegalese Community

 

The lives of thousands of residents of Djeddah Thiaroye Kao, a suburb of Dakar, Senegal in the Pikine District, are at risk due to torrential rains which floods the area.

 

The large land area with over 66 district and 6,000 houses is usually emerged in water after heavy downpours in the raining seasons which ends up displacing people.

 

A visit to the community by 27 media personnel of the West African Journalist Network, attending a three day meeting in Dakar, Senegal, with support from Wateraid and WSCC, showed that residents are exposed to diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, skin diseases and Guinea worm infects among others.

 

the first things that greeted the journalists included deserted houses with over grown weeds, rubbles of what use to be the homes of people and refuse.

 

In terms of sanitation, the reporters observed that the abandoned houses were serving as refuse dumps sites with cats and birds having a field’s day.

 

Seyna Bou-Ngom, a 28-year-old mother of one, in an interview said ‘we live in difficult situations here especially in the month of June to August every year when the rains come, we experience the highest point of our predicament.’

 

She speaks passionately about the situation and expresses her worry over the government’s lack of support to alleviate their plight.

 

‘In 2005, when we were hit by the biggest flood, we were only relocated to live under tents. The government only provided us with some bed sheets, mosquito nets and receptacles. We need pragmatic measure to reduce the impact of the floods here and that is all we are asking for,’ said Ms. Bou-Ngom with a sense of bitterness in her voice.

 

She indicated that ‘the floods have changed our lives,’ explaining that all households are obliged, as a results of the rains which destroys anything in its ways, to keep important items over a certain height, and when the rains start 'we are compelled to even say our prayers, eat and do other things on our beds instead of the floor.’

 

She points out how sand is used to fill the area around the houses as a measure to prevent the rain water from entering the rooms but most of the houses have almost sunk to the window level as a result of this practice.

 

According to Ibrahim Sane, a technician at the Municipality, the level at which the floods hit the community has been raising over the years.

 

He explained that each year, the level gets about ten meters higher and doubts the strategy of raising the buildings or filling the ground was the best solution.

 

Mr. Sane hints that there are only three health centers to serve the population of over 70, 000 while out of 29,000 children only 12,000 are enrolled in school as a result of the lack of infrastructure.

 

Coumba Sarr, a 14 year-old girl was seen washing  outside her home behind a wall which are half washed by the rain. 

The wall just like many of the others which were seen looks like it would fall anytime soon with the least force applied 

 

She tells the journalists that her family has never left their home despite the floods and pressure from the municipality to relocate for safety, but has rather resorted to using garbage to refill the ground at a cost of CFA 20,000 per truck.

 

 

Mayor of the Municipality, Aliou Diouck, admits that the stagnant water in the communities breeds lava which develops into mosquitoes- the main causative agents of malaria.

 

He said last year, the municipality recorded 11 deaths due to the collapse of a weak building while they are reports of water borne diseases among others.

 

However, he stated that there are plans to undertake an 11 billion dollar project which would provide a sustainable solution to the flooding problem of the area.

 

He said the project which would include a run water management and climate change adaptation would include the resettlement of about 8,000 people who are usually hit by the floods.

 

‘A feasibility study of the project has been done and an environmental assessment is also being carried out what is left to do is the  declaration of the area as a public utility area and then we can resettle the inhabitants after compensating them.’

 

Though most of the people are illegal settlers, the Mayor admits that they now have a natural access to the land since they have been occupants for decades.

 

 

Vodafone Cable Thieves Grabbed

Published on April 3, 2013 Three scrape dealers are in the custody of the Dansoman Police on suspicion of stealing telecommunication cables believed to belong to Vodafone Ghana Limited. It is estimated that the cables which were in two different types of 10000.6 and 10000.4 with their total length of 25 meters could be worth GH¢10, 000. The three, Nuhu Alidu, popularly known as Taller, 30 and Osman fafianu, also 30 years as well as Awal Yakubu, 26, who claimed to be residents of Agbogbloshie were arrested on March 27, 2013, and expected to be put before an Accra Circuit Court soon. ASP Christopher Owusu, Crime officer of the Dansoman District Police said at about 3:45 p.m. on the said date, while on duty, police personnel at Dansoman spotted two of the suspects, namely Osman Fafianu and Awal Yakubu, pushing a truck with two fertilizer sacks on it. On suspicion, he said, the police personnel decided to find out the content of the heavy sacks and so searched the track pushers. “A search conducted revealed that electrical wires suspected to be telecom cables were in the sacks and they were arrested and brought to the station,” said ASP Owusu. According to the Crime Officer, the suspects in their caution statements maintained they bought the items from someone near Sakaman, a suburb of Accra but were not ready to disclose the identity of the one who sold the cables to them. “During further investigations and interrogations they confessed they were asked by one Nuhu Alidu, to cart the cables to Agbogbloshie from Sakaman and later led the police to arrest him from his hideout at Agbogbloshie,” he added. ASP Owusu stated that when Alidu was arrested he confirmed that the cables were for him but denied stealing the cables and insisted he bought them from two men he met in a white car on the Odorkor-Mallam road on March 26, 2013. However, no matter how hard the police tried to make them give the names of the sellers of the cables Alidu was not ready to give them any information. “He woefully failed to identify them to the Police,” said Crime Officer Owusu when he briefed DAILY GUIDE at the Dansoman Police Station. Further investigation, ASP Owusu noted, led the police to the Vodafone Ghana Dansoman branch “and they identified the cables as theirs.” Latter an assessment of the cables which were greasy with some black substances on them indicated that they were underground cables. Cable theft has been reported as one of the biggest challenges of the telecommunication industry which cost millions of Ghana Cedis annually to replace either stolen or broken cables. Telecommunication operators have said on countless occasions that cable theft blight their infrastructure and disrupt their operations and end up frustrating users of the network. By Emelia Ennin Abbey

President Files Tax Returns

President John Mahama yesterday filed his tax returns for the year 2012 at the head office of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). The filing of the tax was witnessed by some top commissioners of GRA. He also paid a brief working visit to the Authority. By law, the President, under Article 68 sub section five of the 1992 Constitution, is exempt from paying taxes but the President is expected to file his returns on any extra income earned annually. It is reported that the President earned extra income from the sale of his Book “My First Coup D’état” and his involvement in agriculture. The annual deadline to file one’s income tax return is April each year however the GRA lists scenarios for which Tax Day does not follow this standard deadline. President Mahama, after receiving his tax clearance certificate from the Commissioner of the Large Tax Payers Unit, Comfort Boahene, said the Authority is critical for the running of governments as it raises revenue needed for the improvement of the lives of the citizenry. “Revenue is what gives us the good things we want. The roads do not appear magically, we need revenue to build them.” He noted that Ghana appears to have very low revenue to GDP ratio as compared to other African countries. “Kenya’s revenue to GDP is about 24 percent while that of Ghana is about 17 to 18 per cent. We have to move beyond 20 per cent.” In line with this, the President said there were plans to pass legislation that would bring more people into the tax net. He commended the GRA for collaborating with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to help advance the economic progress of the nation. “We will come up with reforms to help with the system of collection of revenue. He however urged the management of the GRA to sensitize its staff “to embrace the change when it happens.” George Blankson, Commissioner General of the GRA, praised the President for filling his tax religiously, adding “it is an obligation for us and the public to emulate this attitude to ensure we file our tax on time.” He expressed appreciation to the President and government as a whole for supporting GRA in its efforts to modernize. “Recently, the three percent provided for us had saved us from queuing and funds are now paid directly to GRA accounts and this tremendously improved our operations.” He urged government to continue investing in tax administration and revenue collection, stressing that the current GRA head office is inadequate. He therefore called for the inclusion of the construction of a new head office for the GRA in the next budget. Mr. Blankson also called for the quick passage of the legislation, which was announced in the 2012 Budget to broaden the tax base. “The passage of the legislation would enable us collect more revenue needed for developmental projects. By Emelia Ennin Abbey