SNV and Savannah Alliance Ghana holds Private Sector Engagement on Sanitation By-laws in Lambussie

As part of its Healthy Future for All (HF4A) project, SNV Ghana in partnership with Savannah Alliance successfully held a private sector engagement session to review sanitation by-laws in the Lambussie District.

Participants for the engagement were drawn from both public sector institutions and some private actors in the WASH sector.

In attendance were the Chief of Lambussie, Kuuro Issaaka Zeng-eh Kazie Tenjie II, the Deputy Coordinating Director for the Lambussie District, the Presiding Member, some selected assemblymen, nurses, artisans, soap makers, and WSMT members.

Giving a brief about the engagement, Mr. Kwasi Peprah Nyantakyi from SNV underscored the importance of by-laws in the promotion of sanitation. He said the engagement was therefore meant to get the perspective of the private sector on the by-laws.

Mr. Mathew Apanaah the Environmental Health Officer (EHO) for the Lambussie District led the presentation and discussion on the by-laws. Mr. Apanaah briefed participants about the work the Environmental Health Unit does within the district. He indicated they were doing their best but mostly are faced with some unsurmountable challenges including lack of cooperation from the general public.

He therefore made a point on the need for the by-laws on sanitation. He believes the by-laws will empower the EHOs to be able to compel the public to clean their surrounding and take part in all other health-related matters.

Various participants made interesting contributions to support the need for the by-laws on sanitation. The chief of Lambussie for example commenting on the by-laws entreated the organizers of the program and the district assembly to make good use of behavioral change communication (BCC) to get the general public to buy into the need for the by-laws and obey them. To him, people should be made aware of what they are expected to do and the reason why they should obey the by-laws.

The Deputy Coordinating director on his part commended SNV and Savannah Alliance Ghana for implementing the project and seeing the need to help in the enacting of the by-laws. In his presentation, he reminded participants of the role that “consultative assemblies” played in the past. According to him, consultative assemblies gave people the opportunity to make imputes into national issues. Hence allowing private sector actors to contribute to the by-laws on sanitation was a great initiative. Other participants also expressed their opinions on the by-laws.

Giving the closing remarks for the program, Mr. Pius Doozie from Savannah Alliance Ghana entreated the participants to be ambassadors as they went back to their various communities. He entreated them to make sure they shared the good news on the by-laws with their various associations or groups so that many people would be aware of the by-laws and the need to obey them

A similar private sector engagement will be held in the Nandom Municipality on the 7^th of September, 2023. Followed by a knowledge management session on the 8^th of September, 2023.

Savannah Alliance Ghana (SAG) a partner in the implementation of the HF4A is a capacity development organization that provides tailored-made capacity building for development-related agencies. It operates mostly in the Northern part of Ghana with a special interest in the WASH sector, food security, Agric and Livelihood improvement, Education, and Environmental Conservation.