| Title | Improvement of the management of public toilet facilities in Kumasi : roles of public and private sector |
| Publication Type | Miscellaneous |
| Year of Publication | 1998 |
| Authors | Frantzen, A |
| Secondary Title | Ghana Research Papers / University of Amsterdam |
| Volume | no. 9 |
| Pagination | 47 p. : 2 fig., 2 maps, 2 photogr., 4 tab. |
| Date Published | 1998-03-01 |
| Publisher | University of Amsterdam |
| Place Published | Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
| Keywords | aquaprivies, bucket latrines, evaluation, flush toilets, ghana ashanti region kumasi, institutional framework, public toilets, sdiafr, sdisan, urban areas, use of facilities, ventilated improved pit latrines |
| Abstract | In Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana, 38% of the population use the 400 public toilets scattered throughout the city because they lack private facilities at home. Although privatization is a cornerstone of the Urban Environmental Sanitation Policy in Ghana, and public toilet facilities in Kumasi were managed by private contractors in the 1980s and 1990s, not altogether successfully, in 1997 the KMA (Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly) took over the management of the public toilets from the private contractors. From then facilities have deteriorated. Pressure is now mounting to once again contract out public toilets to private operators. The aim of this research paper is to study how improvements can be made in the provision of public toilets in Kumasi, with a special emphasis on the potentials of the private sector. Methods of collecting data included a literature review, a random survey, open interviews with people form the Waste Management Department (WMD) and private contractors, semi-structured interviews and a seminar. In studying the toilet facilities in Kumasi, a general overview is followed by information on the current situation, chiefly, the different kinds of public toilets in use and users? satisfaction with these facilities. Through an examination of the institutional framework surrounding the toilet facilities, the paper deals with plans and policies concerning public toilets in Kumasi, and addresses the structure and role of the KMA and the WMD, and the sanitary facilities and projects. A discussion on the privatization of the public toilets in Kumasi focuses on the performance of public toilets, the organizational and financial aspects, the role of the KMA and the WMD, the role of private contractors in supplying public toilet facilities, the evaluation and monitoring of the management and maintenance of toilet sites and the opinions of various actors. Political aspects are also discussed. Conclusions drawn from the study lead to the main recommendation that the management of toilet facilities should be privatized and run by well established companies who are able to maintain the toilets at hygienic levels and meet the requisite standards. |
| Notes | 11 ref. |
| Custom 1 | 320, 824 |
