Flag bearer on Environmental Sanitation (FOES) was a special seminar series organised by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for presidential candidates of the political parties contesting the December 7 general election. It took place at the Great Hall, KNUST, Kumasi from September 23rd – 26th, 2008. The special seminar under the theme, “My Ghana – Clean and Green” had the main objective of contributing towards the definition of a strategic framework for achieving and sustaining a cleaner and healthier environment.

Sector actors like the KNUST seem to have realised that despite the annual celebrations of the National Sanitation Week, many more systemic challenges remain and constrain the achievement of sustainable improvements, and that it was about time they paid particular attention to the observation made by Prince Wilhelm-Alexander of Netherlands, the Chairman of the UN Secretary General’s Working Group on Water and Sanitation during the Global launch of the UN International Year of Sanitation (IYS 2008) in New York on November 21, 2007 that, “...I don’t think money is the biggest issue. If we take a collective decision to provide water and sanitation, the money will flow. The problem is largely one of priority and political will”.

As such they decided to create this kind of platform to know the views and positions of aspiring political leaders on environmental sanitation. The seminar was chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, Prof. K. K .Adarkwah with the chairperson of the organising committee being Prof. Mrs. Esi Awuah, the Dean of Faculty of Civil and Geomatic Engineering. The parties that took their turns to deliver their plans included the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC), the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Convention People’s Party (CPP). Each presidential candidate was given a day to appear and present their plans within an hour which was followed by questions from the floor for the candidate to address. Questions were received from stakeholders (Water Resource Commission, CONIWAS, Zoomlion, New Juaben Municipal Assembly and School of Hygiene), students and the public.

The issues that were raised by the audience included the importance of Environmental Sanitation as a factor for voting in the up-coming elections, the planning of our cities and towns, sites for treatments and disposal of wastes, and also education and research in sanitation, among others.The occasion provided a platform for each of the Presidential Flag bearers to share their plans and ideas for improving sanitation services. Not only did it create an opportunity for the candidates to demonstrate their commitment to environmental sanitation but also it served as a forum that enabled sector actors to gain insight into plans of Flagbearers to establish good policy frameworks for sanitation sector development.

Finally the profile of environmental sanitation in Ghana was raised through this forum.There was also an associated campaign that called on all to Support KNUST's call for "Ghana - Clean and Green" and sponsor a call to a radio station to alert politicians to give more commitment to environmental sanitation issues. The campaign urged everybody in the sector to do more, as the International Year of Sanitation, 2008 comes to close. This seminar was sponsored by The Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development (MLGRD), Royal Netherlands Embassy, Danida- PMMS, UNICEF and SWITCH.