450 communities to benefit from potable water project

• Posted on April 1, 2019
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

Some 450 communities are set to benefit from the implementation of a potable water project in rural and peri-urban areas.

Addressing the press on Sunday, Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the government is embarking on this project as part of measures to attain the Sustainable Development Goal six on clean water and sanitation.

According to Water.org, Ghana has close to six million people who rely on surface water to meet their daily water needs.

This leaves them vulnerable to water-related illness and disease.

Also, a further, 67 percent of Ghanaians lack access to improved sanitation or are without any toilet facilities.

The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency in conjunction with Aqua Africa Limited, a UK Private Sector Entity based in the UK have been collaborating on a market-based approach to provide potable water to peri-urban and rural communities in Ghana.

The project is also geared towards enhancing the delivery of eater, sanitation and hygiene facilities.

“The concept of transformation is to employ innovative technology and financing methods to generate revenue for maintenance and future expansion projects,” Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said.

He noted that “the project will be executed in over an 18 month period and comprise a cashless payment and data collection system integrated within it to ensure that revenue is easily captured, managed and secured in advance of all water distribution.”

The implementation of this project will maximise social and health benefits such as clean, safe and reliable water supply, improvement in school attendance and reduction in water-borne diseases.

It will also improve access to reliable potable water supply throughout the year, with 225,000 people taken out of water poverty from the first project.