Eben Carboo-Hartog writes: What is happening to the Sanitation and Pollution Levy?

Eben Carboo-Hartog writes: What happened to the Sanitation and Pollution Levy?

Ghana has one of the worst sanitation in the world. According to a WaterAid (2018) analysis, more than 80 percent of the Ghanaian population does not have access to basic sanitation. The Government of Ghana in 2017 established the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MoSWR) to address challenges in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector. Domestic funding for the ministry shows that the Government has not prioritized addressing the sanitation challenges in the country.

Donors have always contributed a larger share of Ghana’s expenditure on WASH. For example, from 2017 to 2021, donors have financed, on average, about 85 percent of the MoSWR’s expenditures, while domestic financing is only about 15 percent of the Ministry’s expenditures.

In 2022 and 2023, the government is expected to contribute only 27 percent and 8 percent to the MoSWR budget, respectively, while donors finance a larger share. Despite poor domestic funding efforts, at the end of the 3rd quarter of 2017, 2018, and 2019, MoSWR has not received up to 82%, 90%, and 83% of domestic contributions for its expenditures.

On page 59 of the 2021 National Budget and Economic Policy Statement, the Government announced its intention to implement the Sanitation and Pollution Levy (SPL) under the Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA), to raise domestic revenue to fight sanitation. challenge. The income generated from the SPL according to ESLA Law 1064, 2021 (amended), will be used for:

• improve urban air quality and combat air pollution;
• designing, constructing and re-designing solid and liquid waste treatment and disposal facilities including compost production facilities, recycling facilities, landfill sites, medical and other specialized water treatment facilities;
• building sanitation facilities to speed up the elimination of open defecation;
• support disinfestation, disinfectant and fumigation of public places, schools, truck parks, health centers and markets, and;
• provides specialized support for maintenance and management, and major landfill sites and other waste treatment plants and facilities throughout the country.

It is important to note that all these infrastructural interventions fall within the mandate of MoSWR. By the end of 2021, the Government raised GH¢ 313,579,550 from the SPL. However, none of the projects carried out by the ministry in 2022 are financed by the SPL Account, as stated in ESLA Law 1064, 2021.

In Page 86 of the MoSWR Program-Based Budget Estimates for 2022 published by the Ministry of Finance, the cost of re-engineering the Oti and Kpone landfill sites was funded by donors (GH¢ 42,729,749.33). There is no domestic funding for this project as indicated in the 2021 Budget Statement, and the ESLA Act. Again, on Page 84, a total of GH¢ 4 million from domestic sources (Amount of Annual Budget Funding) was spent to promote Sustainable Sanitation Livelihood Improvement Project, and waste management.

In the spirit of accountability, it is important for the Government to explain the state of the SPL Account which is expected to be no less than GH¢ 658 million. It is unacceptable to levy taxes on citizens for specific purposes, and cannot use funds as required by law. The Government owes Ghanaians an explanation, especially because of the allegations leveled by former President John Mahama that the Government has bailed out ESLA. Sanitation in Ghana requires significant domestic funding to improve.

The author is an Artist & Development Practitioner

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