Sanitation Ministry Gets $1.5m To Boost Water Supply   

The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Madam Cecilia Abena-Dapaah said per the mandate of the Ministry in achieving the objectives of the SDG 6, the Ministry had revised and subsequently launched the National Guideline Policy for targeting the poor and vulnerable for basic Sanitation Services in Ghana.

With regards to Rural Water delivery for the rural WASH sector, the Minister said that the country had 1,022 piped water system and 32,656 boreholes fitted with hand pumps.

This translates to 62% national coverage of water in rural areas. She, however, noted that one of the major challenges in the area of rural water supply was the frequent breakdown of water systems, which was more than 35% resulting into high non-revenue water estimated between 45 to 60%.

Madam Dapaah, however, said her Ministry was supporting the Community Water and Sanitation Agency to initiate policy reforms to deal with sustainability issues through resource mobilization.

The support also includes investing in the rehabilitation of 100 water systems and the engagement of 700 professionals in the water sector.

These interventions, she said would reduce non-revenue water from 60% to 25% by 2025. She said government had attracted funding to achieve water supply and delivery for all.

Touching on Urban water, the Minister said access to urban water was currently 88% and the expected target of 100% access would be achieved by 2030 through the policies being initiated and implemented by the government.

She, however, acknowledged the challenges in the operations of the private sector, which included equipment holding capacity, inadequate standard infrastructure and cost of operations, which the Ministry was working to address’

Madam Dapaah used the platform to tout the investment opportunities in the country, especially in the WASH sector.

She said the Ministry had a lot of intervention programmes, which needed support, mentioning the Community Led Total Sanitation Program and the implementation of the Pro-Poor Policy Guideline Document targeting the poor and vulnerable for basic sanitation services.

The Minister further commended the World Bank and the African Development for their support, which had provided subsidy intervention programmes in the Country.

The Symposium provided the opportunity and the platform for Ghana to highlight the major achievements in the water and sanitation sector and also court international support with decision makers, thinkers and implementation agencies on how to deliver sustainable WASH Services, the statement added.

---GNA