Creation of Sanitation Ministry defeats purpose of decentralisation – ILGS Director

The Director for the Institute of Local Government Studies is questioning the rationale behind the Akufo-Addo government’s creation of the Sanitation Ministry.

Dr Nicholas Awortwi insists the creation of the Ministry defeats the purpose of decentralisation.

According to him, the creation of the Ministry only shows how far the central government is willing to go to keep powers at the top hierarchy.

Speaking at a news conference in Accra Monday, he said, “We currently have a broken local government system that has failed to deliver basic services like sanitation.

“The fact that we have a Ministry of Sanitation is an indictment of the basis of decentralisation in the local government.”

Water and sanitation services for the first time, got the attention from central government after it took step to prioritise the sector with the creation of the Water and Sanitation Ministry.

Presenting the second batch of 12-ministerial appointees after being sworn into office in January 2017, President Nana Akufo-Addo announced the new Ministry for Sanitation and Water Resources among others.

He also named Joseph Kofi Adda, an MP for Navrongo as the Minister.

According to the president, the decision to respectively split water and sanitation from the Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development stemmed from the neglect of the sub-sectors.

This, the ILGS Director disagrees.

According to him, it tells of “the interest of central government politicians to keep power still at the top and to keep the resources still at the top.”

“So if we have 260 local governments that cannot deliver sanitation and the whole Ministry is created, it tells you the interest of central government politicians and bureaucrats, and if the system is not working it has to be repaired or it has to be fixed; if the system is broken then currently, the local government system is broken,” he stated.