Policy on private water sales in rural Ghana

This paper examines strategies for forming public-private sector partnerships in order to improve the distribution of water in rural areas in Ghana. The options explored include: (1) an outright sale of the existing government-controlled water corporation; (2) setting up decentralized regional water utilities; (3) maintaining the existing central authority but contracting out services to the private sector; (4) charging user fees for water services based on the cost of producing and distributing the water; and (5) encouraging private and community-level institutions to participate in the water market. Based on a limited case study, the paper finds a wide disparity between public and private prices of water, which points to a need for more rigourous pilot programmes and studies to further explore alternatives for public-private partnerships in the Ghana water sector [author's abstract].