The public hearing is an outreach effort for the beneficiaries to know more about the project and how it would affect them.

The GAMA is a five-year $150 million Sanitation and Water Project funded by the World Bank through the International Development Agency (IDA) grant to provide water and sanitation services to urban communities.

The project is currently being implemented in 11 Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies in the GAMA and aimed at building 19,000 toilets.

It is also expected to build 250 toilets for schools within the Greater Accra Metropolis and also apply some behavioural change communication strategies to work on the attitudes of the people with regards to open defecation. 

The toilets are to address the acute sanitation and water challenges confronting the urban communities, particularly the low income areas and so far built more than 600 household toilets.

Mr Frederick Dankwa, Governance and Social Accountability Expert on the GAMA project, said there are some concerns with the price of the toilet facilities in low income communities.

He said though prices of the toilets range from GHC 1,500 to GHC 4,000, it was offered to the beneficiaries at half the price, depending on the type chosen.

Mr Dankwa said the project coordinators have made provisions with Tigo, a Mobile Telecommunication Network to organise a savings scheme where people register and make gradual payments towards the contribution for their toilets.

He said there are some consultations on-going to ensure that the price of the toilet is reduced further.

Mr Dankwa said the project is also looking at building two more facilities such that trucks can dispose liquid waste appropriately and the capacity of stakeholders would be improved in the area of health and other related sectors.

The Social Accountability Expert said the social accountability part of the project demands that citizens to participate in the project and ensure that the team are held accountable.