VRA to provide safe water for communities along the Volta River
The Volta River Authority (VRA) is partnering Safe Water Network (SWN), a non-governmental organization, to bring safe and affordable water to several communities along the banks of the Volta River.
The partnership was announced at a short signing ceremony today Monday at the VRA Head office in Accra on Monday.
A statement to the Ghana News Agency on the partnership said: “The community water systems to be co-funded by VRA and Safe Water Network, will form the foundation of a cluster of water systems that VRA and Safe Water Network seek to develop over the next three years for 100 communities in the Volta basin.
“These sites will use Limited Mechanization Systems (LMS) and slow sand filtration technologies that are cost-effective for communities of less than 5,000 people.”
It said VRA’s funding would also cover the community training and support required to develop the capabilities necessary for the villages to become self-sufficient in managing the water stations.
Mr. Kweku Awotwi, VRA Chief Executive at the signing ceremony, said VRA would continue to be in the forefront of social responsibility issues, adding “we seek to bring real change in our communities by doing the right things socially, economically and environmentally and in a way that respects their right to decent living.”
“Our corporate objectives are best achieved in an inclusive society, and not by working in isolation. Accordingly, we have entered into partnership with SWN to pool our respective resources to accelerate broad social change in our communities,” Mr Awotwi added.
The statement said with the support and assistance of the VRA, an initial list of 20 communities had been identified based on the significant health and sanitation challenges posed by the lack of safe water access in the area.
According to the Ministry of Water Resources, the lack of support and structure at the local level is one of the factors militating against sustainable water systems, in spite of the more than half a billion US dollars invested in the last 20 years by government and its development partners.
Safe Water Network is overcoming the obstacles to local sustainability by demonstrating the viability of locally owned and managed water systems. To date they have provided safe water access to nearly 50,000 people in Ghana.
“We are solving the challenges to local sustainability and refining our model so that access to safe and affordable water will be a reality for millions throughout Ghana,” says Mr. Charles Nimako, Safe Water Network’s Director of Africa Initiatives.
“Partners like VRA make achieving this mission a very real possibility,” he noted.
Source: GNA