1. KWABENYA-ATOMIC MARKET GETS ULTRA-MODERN BIOGAS SANITARY FACILITY

Traders and patrons of the Kwabenya-Atomic Market can heave a huge sigh of relief following the construction of an ultra-modern sanitary facility at the market.

The facility, built through a Public-Private-Partnership contract between the Ga East Municipal Assembly (GEMA) and E-Select Company Limited, and on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) terms, costs Three Hundred Thousand Cedis (GHC300,000.00).

It comes with a 12-Unit Toilet, 11-Unit Bathroom, 2-Unit Urinal, an Office, Cleaners' Room, and Attendants' Office.

The construction started on 4th December, 2020, and completed within a month.

At a ceremony to commission the facility for use, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Ga East Municipal Assembly (GEMA), Abokobi, Hon. Janet Tulasi Mensah, said the His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the New Partriotic Party (NPP)-led Government, prioritize sanitation and for this reason, the President envisions to make "Accra the Cleanest City in Africa".

She observed that sanitation is critical to the development of the nation, hence the commitment by the Government to dedicate resources into finding solutions to address the challenges of sanitation in the country in line with the United Nations Sustainable Goals (UN-SDGs); Goal Six (6): "CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION" which enjoins all nations to  "Ensure Availability and Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation for All" by the year, 2030.

Ga East MCE indicated that a major challenge facing the sanitation sector is the inadequate provison of household and public places of convenience leading to open defecation.

She enumerated the strides made in improving the sanitation situation in the Municipality in the first term of President Akufo-Addo.

"Under President Akufo-Addo, within his first term in office, the Ga East Municipal Assembly has been able to facilitate the construction of over Two Thousand (2,000) household toilets under the World Bank funded Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project (GAMA-SWP), having inherited about 800 from the previous administration".

"We have also constructed three (3) modern public toilet facilities at Taifa-Burkina Market, Old Ashongman and Boi through One Constituency One Million programme", she added.

She lauded the contractor, E-Select Company Limited, for their innovative approach towards addressing the teething sanitation challenges in the country.

"This toilet facility will not only address open defamation in and around this market but is also designed to use gas emanating from the faecal matter to generate electricity which will also address power challenges this market might face and help in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Goals (UN-SDGs); Goal Seven (7): "AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY", (which urges nations to "Ensure Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy for All")", she stated.

She appealed to both the operator and users of the facility to observe culture of maintenance and proper usage to ensure the longevity of the facility.

"I would like to urge all of us to take very good care of this facility and observe all good practices and guidelines and also urge the operator, E-Select Company Limited, to main the facility properly to ensure it lasts long to serve generations", the Hon. MCE advised.

Hon. Janet Tulasi Mensah, who was supported by the Municipal Coordinating Director (MCD), Mr. Matthew Stay, at the function, also used the ceremony to caution, once again, encroachers of the market land, stating that it remains State property.

"Permit me to use this occasion to inform you all once again that the land on which the market is situated is for the State and was acquired for use by the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC). It is therefore inappropriate and illegal for any individual or group to hold themselves as owners and cause mayhem in the market", she emphasizd.

"We acknowledge that the land in question is original for the traditional authority or family and we are engaging them to ensure we construct a modern market facility comparable to any in the West Africa Subregion and beyond. Nobody should do any business with anyone here in the market except the Assembly and its assigns", she further stated.

The Municipal Environmental Health Officer (MEHO), Charles Ampomah Asabre, assured that his outfit will surpervise the use of facility to ensure its safe and proper usage.

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of E-Select, Mr. Daniel Osei, indicated that the construction of the Biogas Sanitary facility at Atomic, Kwabenya, in the Ga East Municipality, brings to four (4), the number of Assemblies in Accra which have benefited from their work.

The other three (3) Assemblies are the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), constructed at Agbogbloshie, La-Nkwantanan-Mandina Municipal, constructed at Madina, and  Ayawaso East Municipal, constructed at Maamobi.

He promised that his company will take good care of the facility to ensure it lasts long and serve as envisioned.

Mr. Osei disclosed that they will soon install a compressor to channel the gas produced from the effluent into cylinders for use while efforts were being made to get a generator that can be powered by the gas produced from the facility to augment the energy needs of the market and the vicinity.

Assembly Members for Atomic and Kwabenya, Hon. Cornelius Addo, and Bright Paul Mintah, respectively, and representatives of the Kwabenya Queenmother, led by Nii Ayi, were also at the function.