GAMA/GKMA boosting local capacity in biodigester construction, maintenance

A Sanitation Engineering Specialist with the Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Areas Sanitation and Water Project (GAMA/GKMA SWP), Ing. Kwadwo Antwi Gyasi, says his outfit has started building the capacity of a team of local technicians and artisans in the construction and maintenance of biodigester toilets.

Ing. Antwi Gyasi, said this during the MOLE XXXIV WASH conference being held in Jirapa in the Upper West Region.

According to him since the introduction of the portable toilets in the country and its adoption by the project to meet the needs of household toilets in low-income urban communities, the demand for the technology has gone up with many private individuals and institutions buying into the model.

He said many contractors have therefore been building the biodigester toilets for households and institutions, and so there is a need to train artisans and technicians for the sector.

Ing. Antwi Gyasi, explained that the GAMA/GKMA project foresaw this need and developed a manual to guide contractors and artisans who build biodigester toilets.

“We are currently using the manual to train students in some technical schools, including the Kumasi Technical Institute and other technical institutions,

We believe that these trained artisans and technicians will create the necessary skilled manpower base for the construction and maintenance of the toilets to the desired standards,” Engineer Gyasi stated.

Since its inception, the GAMA/GKMA project has constructed potable biodigester toilets for 59,000 households in low-income urban communities in Accra and Kumasi with 598 gender-friendly schools and health facilities in the two cities.

Story: Kwadwo BUABENG