Assessing the action plans of the national water policy in improving Ghana’s urban water supply

Abstract

Water accessibility is a key focus area featured in the Ghana National Water Policy. Implementing agencies have been tasked by the policy to undertake key activities as part of measures and or action plans to improve on the urban accessibility to water. This study aimed at assessing the progress of Action Plans of NWP by implementation agencies towards achieving the strategic objective of urban water supply in Ghana. Data was collected through key informant interviews conducted with a total of twelve officials spanning across key institutions assigned responsibilities by the NWP including GWCL, PURC, MSWR, NDPC, WRI, CWSA, CONIWAS, and WRC. Most of the participants had served for over 5 years in their respective institutions. Participants revealed that in spite of proposed measures backed by the policy, implementation plans have been inadequate in improving accessibility to water in the urban sector. The study further revealed that key challenges affecting the holistic implementation of policy measures included; (1) the lack of an over-arching legislation within the water sector; (2) fragmented attempts by various institutions instead of a sector-wide coordinated approach in the implementation of action plans as well as (3) the shelving of critical research findings on risks posed to waterbodies by the mining sector. It is therefore recommended that (1) the establishment of policy indicators; (2) sourcing of sustainable funding for expansion of water supply infrastructure; (3) improvements in the operational efficiency of GWCL; (4) improved governance and accountability through the enactment of an overarching sector law; and (5) the establishment and sustainable funding of Pro-Poor Units in GWCL, will contribute to the rapid progress with plans to improve accessibility to water supply in the urban space.