Half of Ghana's population lacks portable water - Consultant

About nine million Ghanaians lack adequate water supply, Mr. Godfried Opong Kesse, a geological consultant, said in Accra Thursday.

The government would need about 1.2 billion dollars to extend coverage over the next ten years to remedy the deficiency, he said in a lecture on "The Role of the Private Sector" as part of activities marking the fifth anniversary of the Water Research Institute (WRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), under the theme "Water Research- The Way Forward."

Sourcing of funds for expansion remains a problem for the Ghanaian government.

Mr. Kesse who was a former Chairman of the Board of WRI said water supply could not keep pace with population growth because the government did not have the funds for expansion.

"There is also the problem of deteriorating infrastructure due to inadequate maintenance, low tariffs, poor billing and collection, over staffing and unauthorised connection by workers to some consumers for consideration fees," he said.

Mr. Kesse said the consequences of inefficiency in a public operated utility were poor services; consumers generally paid more for poor services and inequity in prices. "In order to supply sufficient water for all at affordable price, there is the need to reduce cost by improving the efficiency, with which services are delivered," he said.

Mr. Kesse said many governments in Africa were turning to the private sector for assistance to solve problems similar to that of Ghana.

He said options for private sector participation in water delivery, from which the government could choose included service contract, management contract, lease concession and divestiture, which was politically and socially unacceptable in Africa.

Some African countries already involved with private sector participation were Cote d' Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Mali, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Chad, Kenya and South Africa.

"Experience with this model shows that the adoption of the private sector participation is far better in water delivery in these countries, from which Ghana could also learn," Mr. Kesse added.

Mr. Kesse has also called on the government to publish the report of the Justice Adade Commission, which probed the erstwhile Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation (GWSC). To him,, the publication of the report was long over due.

The government set up the commission last year to investigate an alleged purchase of stationary by the GWSC, which last could last for about 130 years.

It was also to probe the procurement of materials, which should have cost 9,000 cedis per yard was sold to the company for 42,000 cedis per year. Such deals were not exclusive to the Company and the publication of the report would help instill discipline in other institutions with similar problems, he said.

"Such indiscipline is ruining our country and a stop must be put to it somehow," Mr. Kesse added.

He noted that people considered government operated utilities as areas for the employment of friends and relatives and said, "such avenues are in fact used as free service to all".

Kesse said they were poorly managed, adding that, there was the need to reduce cost by improving efficiency in the delivery of water to the people at an affordable price, which could be achieved through private sector participation.