Water for African Cities construction in Sabon Zongo

Potential contractors file their bidding documents.

Credit: WaterAid / Rose Adisenu-Doe

By Rose Adisenu-Doe

The Water for African Cities project will begin constructing facilities in March 2008, according to Stephen Ntow, Country Representative of WaterAid in Ghana, who spoke at a recent project Component Coordination Committee meeting in Accra.

The work will involve the construction of storm drains, public toilets and skip pads for refuse disposal and management. As a result, residents of Sabon Zongo will see real progress as construction work commences.

The Sub-Metropolitan authorities of Ablekuma Central will supervise the relocation of all squatters to pave way for the contractors to start work.

The multitude of partners and the need to clarify the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders caused some delays in starting the construction phase of Water for African Cities. Also, several studies and consultations had to be undertaken to ensure that sanitation and the designs of water facilities meet the needs of all the intended users, including the disabled and socially excluded.

An infrastructure audit enabled the project's partners to select appropriate sites for the facilities. A cluster of schools in the community (Dawaltul Islamic Primary and Lartebiokoshie primary schools) will benefit from one of the two public toilets originally intended for the community. The community actively participated in the design of these facilities, and is continually consulted in decisions regarding their improvement and management.