Ghana’s national water supply integrity study : mapping transparency, accountability and participation in service delivery : an analysis of the wa...

This report provides an overview of the water sector in Ghana in terms of integrity and performance based on literature review, discussions with water sector actors and case studies. It is addressed to water sector specialists and key stakeholders involved in policy making, regulation and water service development and provision in Ghana. Case studies were used to explore in detail the performance and integrity of water service development and provision in the country. The research methodology is based on a risk map concept, looking at the integrity (in terms of Transparency, Accountability and Participation) of the relationships between public officials, regulators, service providers and users in selected urban and rural areas. Findings show important integrity risks that need to be addressed in combination with measures to improve sector performance. Inequity is still considerable in Ghana in terms of access to improved water supply and the price users pay. The situation is not in line with the declaration of the UN General Assembly in July 2010 that clean water and sanitation are a human right. The lower income groups suffer most in this situation. Ghana started a water sector reform process in the 1990s and approved its national water policy in 2007. The reform process has led to better distribution of tasks among different government institutions and the development of laws, rules and procedures including a code of ethics, codes of conduct, manuals to maintain the quality of service delivery, and procurement and auditing rules. The policy is largely focused on
local involvement for example in siting of water points and selection of water committees. [authors abstract]