Water Supply And Sanitation In Ghana
This article has been written in 2008 and has last been updated on substance in 2012. Please feel free to update it further.
| Ghana: Water and Sanitation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Data | ||
| Water coverage (broad definition) | 86% (2010) | |
| Sanitation coverage (broad definition) | 14% (2010) | |
| Continuity of supply (%) | 25% in Accra | |
| Average urban water use (l/c/d) | n/a | |
| Average urban water tariff (US$/m³) | US$0.66 (2006) | |
| Share of household metering | n/a | |
| Share of collected wastewater treated | about 10% in Accra | |
| Annual investment in WSS | US$ 0.7 per capita | |
| Financing | About 90% development assistance | |
| Institutions | ||
| Decentralization to municipalities | In rural areas: Decentralization to districts, since 1994 | |
| National water and sanitation company | Yes: Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) | |
| Water and sanitation regulator | In urban areas: Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) | |
| Responsibility for policy setting | Water Directorate within the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing | |
| Sector law | various | |
| Number of urban service providers | 1: GWCL | |
| Number of rural service providers | more than 400 community-managed piped systems | |
The drinking water supply and sanitation sector in Ghana faces a number of challenges, including very limited access to sanitation, intermittent supply, high water losses and low water pressure. Since 1994, the sector has been gradually reformed through the creation of an autonomous regulatory agency, introduction of private sector participation, decentralization of the rural supply to 138 districts and increased community participation in the management of rural water systems. An international company managed all urban water systems since 2006 under a 5-year management contract which expired after achieving only some of its objectives. The reforms also aim at increasing cost recovery and a modernization of the urban utility Ghana Water Company Ltd. (GWCL). Another problem which partly arose from the recent reforms is the existence of a multitude of institutions with overlapping responsibilities. The National Water Policy (NWP), launched at the beginning of 2008, seeks to introduce a comprehensive sector policy.
Read more about Water Supply And Sanitation In Ghana: Access, Water Resources, Water Use, History and Recent Developments, Responsibility For Water Supply and Sanitation, External Cooperation
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