By Patrick Biddah
Government has taken steps to ensure effective and safety use of water by all consumers.
The overall goal, however, is to maximize and reap the utmost benefit from the use of clean water which is now being derived from the treatment of waste water through technology.
In view of this, the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Kwaku Afriyie, has revealed that a bill has been sent to Parliament to legislate this idea.
This bill, which he said is being spearheaded by the Environmental Protection Agency( EPA) will make EPA double test the content of all water to ascertain it safety towards making it wholesome on international market and feeding into the larger circular economy.
The bill, he pointed out will make EPA an enforcer of strict compliance to the testing regime by all regulators.
Making this revelation at a day’s policy dialogue in Accra on January 23, 2024, the Minister said Ghana is transitioning into the era of re-using waste products and there was the need therefore to ensure efficient safety and quality which requires a direct oversight legislation to achieve it.
According to him, the current approach to waste disposal is unsustainable which has triggered the conversation towards a more sustainable approach.
For him, waste as a resource has been downplayed when in actual fact it is a job creation venture and a source of cash resourcesand it is the more reason why the dialogue is appropriate towards achieving that.
The dialogue which was under the theme:” Advancing Water Smart Solutions In Ghana” was organized by the Science and Technology Policy Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (.CSIR- STEPRI).
It brought together policy makers, researchers, regulators and civil society organizations.
It was organized as part of activities of the European Union Commission action project called “Achieving Wider upgrade of water smart solution “.
Ghana is the only country in Africa and among the five in the world to benefit from the demonstrations of this project.
The other countries are Norway, Czech Republic, Italy and Netherlands.
The Minister, who said he is a farmer, threw his support for the project and urged the implementers to be resolute since there is the likelihood of a push back from other interest groups.
The Project Coordinator for the WIDER UPTAKE, Dr Gordon Akom-Yamga, emphasized the benefits of the project.
Aside recovering waste water for the agriculture irrigation, he said the sludge or fecal matter is used for bio fuel.
Dr Akom-Yamga, who is also a Research Scientist at CSIR-STEPRI expressed and outline the full potential of the project.
At the end of the dialogue, the challenges and opportunities in the adoption of the water smart solution was to be identified.
