As part of its efforts to improve the skills of staff in carrying out major functions towards building a result oriented personnel that would respond and address to sanitation issues in the state, the Plateau Environmental Protection and Sanitation Agency (PEPSA), has organised a two- day workshop on design, technical and quality control for sanitation services to its staff.
This came in a press statement signed by the PEPSA Information Officer, Godwin Moses, and made available to SUNDAY STANDARD in Jos, the Plateau State capital recently, shortly after rounding up the two-day workshop held at Water Way Resort, Bukuru Low-Cost junction, Jos-South LGA.
Addressing participants, the Acting General Manager of PEPSA, Mrs. Anthonia M. Shalwul, said, “Plateau State Environmental Protection and Sanitation Agency (PEPSA) is implementing Urban Sanitation in the Sustainable Urban Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (SURWASH) Project Areas in Plateau State.
“The designs and technical standard for quality control in sanitation service chain training, is the second module in the series of training delivered based on the agency’s Performance Improvement Action Plan (PIAP).
“The objectives of SURWASH include access to water and sanitation service across both rural communities, municipalities and urban centers in the state. The project would be leveraged to provide maximum sanitation service in line with citywide inclusiveness in the urban centers in the state”, she highlighted.
While delivering the training module, the Consultant, Engr. Wan Chai, stressed on the need to carry out pre- design analysis and inclusion of stakeholders and also on technical requirements for the design, risks of contamination of ground water from on-site sanitation, septic tank design procedure and checklist for concrete quality.
He said, “Other technical requirements are capital cost, ongoing cost , life-cycle costs, desludging, design and budget for a robust construction using high quality materials and fittings as well as footrest and drop hole design to guard the blind and other persons with disabilities.
“Sanitary accommodations should as well be designed and constructed separately for male and female in public spaces in such a way that it can be conveniently used without threat to health and safety”, the consultant outlined.
Chai, however, disclosed that the Plateau State Environmental and Sanitation Agency (PEPSA) was working towards achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) status in the state, hence the need to have the needed technical requirements that could enhance the attainment of this target.
