Ghana's water availability figure of about
40,000 barrels for each person a year in
1960, going by Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) figures, has dwindled to
about 10,178 barrels annually in 2013.
This means there has been a whopping
reduction of about 60 per cent of water that
is available to every Ghanaian in the spate of
53 years.
The reduction also translates from 110
barrels daily for each person as pertained in
1960 when the population was 6.5 million, to
48 barrels in 2013, if the available water in
the country were to be shared equally among
the about 25 million current Ghanaian
population.
These revelations were made by Mr Minta A
Aboagye, a former Director of Water at the
Water Directorate of the Ministry of Water
Resources, Works and Housing in Accra last
week Tuesday, December 17, 2013.
Speaking at the launch of the first ever Ghana
WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) Awards
whose first edition is slated for 2014, Mr
Minta Aboagye said the most worrying aspect
of the situation was what it would be in the
next 35 years (in 2050), when Ghana's
population is projected to have hit 40
million.
"By then if the phenomenon of climate
change has not wreaked havoc and our
annual renewable water remains the same,
the yearly per capita water availability will
diminish to only 1,330m3 or 292,600
gallons," he said.
According to Mr Aboagye, when that happens
the daily rationing that would be available to
each Ghanaian would be 3.64m3 or just 801
gallons a day equivalent to about 18 barrels.
"This is a frightening situation considering
the fact that currently the country is
classified as water-stressed," the former
Director of Water said.
Importance of WASH Awards
Relating the country's dire water situation to
the significance of the awards, Mr Aboagye
said; "Indeed we all know the causative
issues. The trees that provide forest cover
and play an essential role in the hydrological
cycle in the replenishment of our water
resources has and are still being decimated
with nonchalant abandon, while the land
itself which is the recipient of the rains that
run off to fill our streams, rivers and lakes is
seriously violated with all forms of
degradation, thus affecting our sources of
water supply.
"We all pretend nothing is happening, turn
our eyes the other way, then throw up our
hands in despair as if nothing can be done
about it and keep complaining to ourselves.
But the situation can be reversed through our
own initiatives and efforts, individually and
collectively. And those who champion the
cause of the reversal must be recognised and
celebrated in order to sustain the process and
to serve as a beacon of hope for the future,"
he stated.
Regarding Sanitation, Mr Aboagye said
although the challenges were daunting there
was the need to find credible ways of
motivating innovators and those whose
policies had given a boost to ensuring clean
and hygienic environment.
The WASH Awards
The Ghana WASH awards have been instituted
by the Ghana Country Water Partnership
(GCWP), the local chapter of the Global Water
Partnership (GWP) , an organisation founded
in 1996 by the World Bank, the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
and the Swedish
International Development Cooperation
Agency (SIDA), to foster integrated water
resource management (IWRM).
According to Chairman for GCWP, Mr Nii Boi
Ayibotele, the awards is aimed at recognising
the contributions made so far in the WASH
sector, in order to motivate and promote
innovative interventions to tackle the
challenges in the sector.
It is also meant to showcase the role the
private sector is playing by forging
partnerships among themselves and with
government to achieve results.
The annual awards would recognise
individuals, organisations, academicians,
research scientists; organised groups, non-
governmental organisations as well as the
media among others, for their innovative
roles in advancing WASH in the country.
Selection for the awards would be based on
nominations, which would be vetted by a
purposely selected committee that would
serve as a jury.
Mr Ayibotele however said the actual
component of the awards would be
determined by a committee that would be
put together to set out the criteria and plan
the event.
Myjoyonline reported
