AEGIS ECAS 2007 - View abstract

Panel	32. Water in Africa: policies, politics and practices. National and local appropriation of global management models and paradigms
Paper ID	380
Author(s)	Fuest, Veronika
Paper	No paper submitted
Abstract	In the past decade the so-called demand-driven approach of community water supply was introduced in rural and small urban areas to overcome notorious shortcomings of Ghana’s public water supply. With support by numerous international donor organizations comprehensive reforms in the water sector effected a transition of roles and responsibilities as well as the establishment of new institutions and actors. Re-orienting the water sector policies resulted, among others, in the National Community Water and Sanitation Programme (NCWSP), which started to operate in 1994. The policies directed at sustainable drinking water supply were to ensure the ownership of communities and the sustainability of facilities. Key elements of the major policy were capital cost contributions by would-be beneficiaries, private sector participation, and cost-recovery water tariffs. This paper is based on a multilevel study of interrelationships between institutions, policy instruments and actors ten years after the programme was started (2003-2004). It reveals a variety of inconsistencies in programme planning and implementation which put the long-term sustainability of water supply at stake. Capacity and resource constraints at national, district and local levels, legal pluralism and diverging interests of the various actors in the water sector were not amenable to reaching the ambitious objectives of the programme. There was a pervasive lack of knowledge for informed decision-taking and of coordination among aid agencies. Water supply infrastructure was in high demand, however, the inability or unwillingness of communities to pay their share of capital cost contributions was a cross-cutting issue of major concern. Where improved systems had been established, their sustainability was often doubtful because of low levels of water tariffs and, concerning small urban supply systems, by ineffective management, operation and maintenance. Utilization of the improved sources once established or rehabilitated turned out to be limited, which was due to environmental (water quality and quantity), technical and socio-political factors involving issues of acceptance, ‘elite capture’ and equity. Ongoing reforms, particularly in the framework of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy, were aiming to resolve some of the problems. Ultimately the peculiar ‘logic’ and institutional constraints of the world of development aid appears to be at the root of the difficulties observed.

Community Water Supply in Ghana: Policies, Practices and Outcomes