Stakeholders in the water and sanitation sectors meet in Wa
Major stakeholders in the water and sanitation sectors in the Upper West Region have held a meeting at Wa to deliberate on issues affecting the two sectors and chart possible ways of addressing challenges to enhance effective implementation of their programmes in the region.
Organisations that participated included the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Water Resources Commission (WRC), the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Traditional rulers and the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS).
CARE International Ghana and CWSA were the two organisations that organised the meeting.
Madam Louisa Dagang, a representative of CWSA who briefed the participants on the state of Small Town Water Systems in the Region, said CWSA had built 17 Small Town Water Systems in the region.
She said lack of technical skills on the part of members of the Water Boards was a major challenge to the sustainability of many of the Small Town Water Systems and borehole facilities provided by CWSA and other organisations.
To address this, she suggested that members of the Water Boards should be properly trained and community members should own the facilities.
Madam Louisa accused some of the Water Boards of diverting funds and suggested that the District Assemblies should audit the various Boards to ensure that funds generated got to the appropriate quarters.
She called for more stakeholder collaboration to avoid duplication of efforts.
Mr. Fidelis Yapel, Water and Sanitation Coordinator at the Plan Ghana Northern Sector Support Office, said the major problem facing Plan Ghana was inadequate funding for water and sanitation activities.
He said despite these challenges, Plan Ghana had made significant interventions in the area of health, education, food and economic activities as well as child rights.
Plan Ghana, under the school health programme, provided training for pupils and teachers on good hygiene practices and also supported the schools with funds to buy hand washing facilities.
Additionally, Plan Ghana also supported the construction of two boreholes and three 4-seater KVIPs for three schools.
Source: GNA