Government must pass laws to protect the rights of citizens to potable water and good sanitation, Deputy Ranking Member for Parliament’s Works and Housing Committee, Rudolf Nsorwinne Amenga-Etego, has said.
“It is my candid opinion that this current august parliament cannot and must not continue to disregard the overwhelming evidence in favour of a legislation recognising the right to water and sanitation,” he stated on Tuesday, March 21, on the occasion of World Water Day.
He was of the view that such a right only requires the state to ensure that every citizen has “access to services that comply with certain standards (e.g. availability, acceptability, accessibility, affordability, quality), but best practices found in Sweden, Norway, South Africa, etc. show that different settings require different and flexible water and sanitation solutions”, adding: “States are required to take steps and adopt measures most suited to their specific circumstances.”
In addition to the request, Amenga-Etego is appealing for legislation that will protect water bodies across the country that have been at the mercy of several unhealthy practices such as ‘galamsey’.
“I would like to also call on parliament to urgently request the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation through the Water Resources Commission to enforce the laws that protect our water bodies from hazardous waste, pollution, and call on government and all citizens to conserve and recycle water for use,” he added.
Below is the full statement:
The Right to Water and Sanitation and World Water Day: A Media Statement by Hon. Rudolf Nsorwinne Amenga-Etego (MP, Chiana/Paga and Deputy Ranking Member for Works and Housing Committee).
As we commemorate the World Water Day today the 22nd of March 2017 with the theme “Waste Water-Why Waste Water”, may I humbly appeal to the parliament of Ghana to seize this opportunity and make history by bringing to rest the debate around the right to safe drinking water and sanitation in Ghana by enacting into law the Right to Safe drinking water and Sanitation for all citizens.
In the comity of nations, Ghana has been a consistent advocate for the Human right to water and sanitation. It will be recalled that, in 1994, 51 African States including Ghana signed the PROGRAMME OF ACTION adopted at the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development which recognized in PRINCIPLE number two (2), that the right to an adequate standard of living includes both water and sanitation. Again, at the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) held in Istanbul in 1996, 51 African States including Ghana signed on to the Habitat Agenda, which reaffirmed the interpretation that adequate standard of living includes both water and sanitation.
Ghana’s commitment to the Human right to water and sanitation was again demonstrated in 2006 when 53 African States signed the Abuja Declaration adopted in the framework of the 1st Africa – South America Summit, in which participating States committed to “promote the right of our citizens to have access to clean water and sanitation”.
Again, in June 2009 in a land mark move, the 53 African Member States of the Non-Aligned Movement including Ghana signed the Final Document of the 15th Summit of Heads of State and Government, which acknowledged the right to safe water and sanitation.
Consistent with Ghana’s record on the international scene on the matter of the right to water and sanitation, Ghana developed and launched her National Policy on water in 2007 which reaffirmed her commitment to the right to water and sanitation. Following preliminary consultations made by the J.A Kuffour administration, again in 2009 at the first Ghana Water forum, the Government of Ghana and its Development Partners in a development partners’ roundtable agreed that access to safe drinking water and sanitation should be treated as a Human right. Significantly, this same commitment was once again confirmed in the sanitation Policy document launched in 2010.
Ghana’s commitment to the right to water and sanitation was again amply demonstrated in 2013 when Ghana co-sponsored General Assembly Resolution 68/157, the first Resolution of the UN in which all member states affirmed the Human right to safe drinking water and sanitation as legally binding in International law. It is not surprising therefore that when the UN Sanitation and Water for All Committee was set up in 2009, His Excellency J.A Kuffour became its first substantive Chairperson. In His maiden address to the Committee in Marseilles in March 2012, at the World Water forum, he eloquently reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to the right to water and sanitation to a standing ovation.
It is my candid opinion that this current august Parliament cannot and must not continue to disregard the overwhelming evidence in favour of a legislation recognising the right to water and sanitation.
We also cannot continue to be prisoners of popular misconceptions about this important and overarching Human right. As a passionate researcher, activist and advocate for the right to water and sanitation I know for example that some legislators and policy makers think this Right require that everyone – including people living in remote areas – are entitled to piped water and a toilet connected to a sewerage system but far from the case. This Right only requires that States ensure that every citizen has access to services that comply with certain standards (e.g. availability, acceptability, accessibility, affordability, quality), but best practices found in Sweden, Norway, South Africa, etc. show that different settings require different and flexible water and sanitation solutions. States are required to take steps and adopt measures most suited to the specific circumstances.
The skeptics have often asked the question as to whether a government is in violation of the right to water and sanitation if some of its citizens have no immediate access to these services. Existing precedents show that the full realisation of the right can be achieved progressively. States however have an immediate obligation to adopt a national strategy and plan of action to address discrimination in the provision of basic services, and ensure minimum essential levels of the right for every citizen. This is consistent with Article 35 (3) and (4) of the 1992 constitution which states inter alia that-
(3) “the State shall promote just and reasonable access by all citizens to public facilities and services in accordance with law” and
(4) “the State shall cultivate among all Ghanaians respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms and the dignity of the human person”
Human life, like all life depends on water, water is life is a common adage, and without adequate water and sanitation, the dignity of the human person is compromised.
Enacting a law to protect citizens’ right to water and sanitation will also compel providers to involve communities and citizens in project implementation, monitoring and evaluation to ensure equity and inclusion. Furthermore, beyond participation in decision making processes, the right to water and sanitation could empower and help to organise individuals and communities who do not have adequate access to safe water and sanitation to proactively act to conserve water and keep their surroundings clean knowing that rights go with responsibilities.
This will be of immense relevance to the people of Ghana, and in particular my constituency Chiana / Paga who are facing Semi-Sahelian conditions. Such enactment will create the legal framework for them not only to influence water policy at the local level but also to hold local and national resource gate keepers accountable for adequacy, quality and accessibility.
The people of Chiana/Paga are well known for the production of quality vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, lettuce, cabbage, pepper, soya bean and ground nuts. Adequate water for drinking and irrigation in Chiana/Paga will not only increase production but substantially create employment for the youth, particularly for the women who dominate the vegetable market.
Since rights go with responsibilities; the law will create the necessary conditions for the people of Chiana/Paga and indeed all citizens of Ghana to help check pollution, conserve water and support the dam safety measures of the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation.
The sustainable development goal 6 target 3 aims at improving water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimising hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated waste water and substantially increasing recycling and safe re-use of water globally.
As we commemorate this year’s World Water Day, I will like to also call on parliament to urgently request the Minister for Water Resources and Sanitation through the Water Resources Commission to enforce the laws that protect our water bodies from hazardous wastes, pollution and call on government and all citizens to conserve and recycle water for use. The day should also be used as an opportunity for this government in line with its goal of “water for all”, and its “One Village, One Dam” proposition, to initiate a bill that will bring to a final rest, Ghana’s quest for the Right to Water and Sanitation.
It is time for all of us as citizens to walk the talk!
THANK YOU.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
