The CWSA Technical And Fiscal Prospects Towards The Provision of Potable Water to Ghanaian Communities

The Director, Technical Services was asked about the processes that CWSA goes through in the provision of water infrastructure for rural communities and small towns.

Explaining the process of water supply to communities, the Director of Technical Services, Ing. Owusu Konadu said that the provision of Water supply systems starts with the identification of needs which normally starts at the community level.  This is when a community through their assembly member formally appeals to their district assembly for water supply. The district assemblies compile lists of such applications and submit them to CWSA for consideration. CWSA relies on these lists to select communities to benefit from projects when funds have been secured.  Funds for the implementation of the project come directly from the Government of Ghana, Bi-Lateral and Multi-lateral institutions. Ing. Owusu Konadu added that; “since the launch of the Rural Water Sector Policy Reforms in 2017, CWSA started the construction of a number of new small-town water supply systems along with the rehabilitation of many broken-down water systems nationwide to restore the regular supply of safe water to many rural communities who had been without water for a long time”.

The Director of Technical Services explained further that often times the design and construction of these water supply facilities are contracted to the private sector who work closely with the engineers of CWSA, the district assemblies, and the beneficiary communities.

According to Ing. Owusu Konadu, the construction of water systems is started when environmental and social safeguard issues have been settled or program of action on safeguards has been agreed with the affected persons. The affected persons, he said, are normally paid agreed sums of money for their parcels of land on which water systems and storage facilities will be constructed and such agreements are fully documented for future reference and for the avoidance of future land litigation. “Completed water facilities undergo six (6) to twelve (12) months maintenance liability period during which time, the contractor stays on-site and rectifies defects that may occur. Then the project is handed over for full operation after the liability period”, he explained. Continue Here