GWCL commits $700 million to water projects.

In an effort to provide consumers with cleaner water, the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), with assistance from the government, has invested $700 million in nine water projects across the nation during the previous five years.

The improvement has contributed to an increase in access to potable water in urban areas to 93%.

Stanley Martey, the GWCL’s Head of Communications, announced this and stated that the organization was collaborating with the government to guarantee that universal water coverage was achieved by 2030 in accordance with SDG 6, which is focused on universal access to water and sanitation.

In Accra, Ghana, Revenue Mobilization Africa hosted a national stakeholders’ press briefing to commemorate World Water Day (WWD) this year.
Its subject was “Accelerate for Change.”

Challenges

According to Mr. Martey, the corporation was only able to generate 199 million gallons per day (MGD), creating a shortfall of about 122 MGD despite the fact that the country’s need for urban water was 321 MGD. He stated that in order to “close the gap between demand and supply,” the GWCL was actively collaborating with the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources.

He said that in order to provide access for all, the business set up a Low-Income Community Support Department, which has so far provided subsidized new service connections to over 17,100 residences in metropolitan low-income communities. GWCL

According to him, the department has resources to give an extra 12,400 connections, which would directly and indirectly benefit over 1.25 million people and have an estimated annual usage of almost 3.7 million cubic meters.

Boundary zones

Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the minister of water resources and sanitation, said in a statement read on her behalf by Suzzy Abaidoo, the ministry’s program officer for water, sanitation, and hygiene, that the ministry had worked with the Water Resources Commission to safeguard water bodies and guarantee water availability. (WRC).

She mentioned that among the measures put in place was the creation of the buffer zone policy to handle human activities that took place close to the banks of water bodies.

But she didn’t take long to point out that the accompanying LI, which would enforce some of the policies, was still in progress.

She added that deteriorated land along the banks of some significant bodies of water, including the Birim, Pra, and Tano basins, had been repaired and that the Black Volta’s banks had been targeted for rehabilitation. GWCL

She said that the WRC had also carried out 70 significant ecological and hotspot monitoring projects in the river basins, mostly to address buffer zone encroachment and pollution from illegal water use and solid and liquid waste dumping. GWCL

The minister asked everyone to use water wisely, refrain from activities that polluted water bodies, cease using open defecation and use bathroom facilities, practice water cleanliness, among other things, in order to address the water problem.

Jeffery Ocansey, Executive Director of Revenue Mobilization Africa, urged all parties to play their parts in ensuring that everyone had access to safe water and support the provision of high-quality, reasonably-priced water for all Ghanaians, especially the most vulnerable members of society, such as the elderly, the underprivileged, people with disabilities, and women.

To ensure that all citizens have access to water and sanitary services, he advised setting up specific funds for water and increasing government budgetary contribution to the water sector.

According to Mr. Ocansey, such actions raise the expense of treating and managing water. He denounced the activities of fishermen who used hazardous substances for fishing in water bodies, a behavior that contaminated the water bodies. GWCL

The consumer will be affected as costs increase.

All attendees pledged to help “accelerating change” by safeguarding the protection of water resources from threats and privatization by joining millions of people throughout the world in celebrating the 2023 WWD.

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