By Rachel Kakraba
Ghana joins the rest of the global community to commemorate this year’s Water Day today. The Day seeks to inspire action to tackle the global water crisis as well as to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which focuses on water and sanitation for all by 2030.
World Water Day is an annual event held on 22 March and focuses on the importance of freshwater. Celebrated on the theme “Water for Peace”, this year’s commemoration draws attention to the fact that water can create peace or spark conflict. In Ghana, the national event will be commemorated at Potrase in the Eastern Region.
Speaking to GBC GHANA ONLINE on this year’s theme, Acting Director, Water Resources Commission, Dr. Bob Alfa, said unequal access to water creates conflicts. He said that as a result of the polluted nature of Ghana’s water sources, which flow to neighbouring countries such as Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana has had to make a lot of negotiations to prevent a possible conflict.
“Ghana is an example where we have our water resources flowing to our neighboring countries, Ivory Coast. This water is polluted. That country is definitely not happy. We are having to negotiate and cooperate seriously. Otherwise, we probably would have gotten ourselves into conflict with, our neighbours.”
Dr. Alpha stated that water is a catalyst for economic development and called for the support of all to protect water resources of the country.
“Every drop of water is precious, and our commitment to say that the water resources of our country remain high on the ministry’s agenda. Indeed, water is a catalyst for economic development. We therefore need to quicken our efforts at every level to protect our shared water resources.”
Deputy Minister, Sanitation and Water Resources, Amidu Issahaku Chinnia, said the proportion of water bodies with good ambient quality as at 2023 was 58.8%. Although he describes this as good, he noted the need for the country to do more in order not to hit water scarcity thresholds. He attributed major challenges in the water sector to negative activities along the water bodies, which include fish farming and illegal mining, resulting in poor water quality and distribution shortfalls.
Mr. Chinnia said the government is making strides to manage water resources as well as improve WASH services for all Ghanaians.
“Intervention to safeguard the effective utilisation of water in Ghana over the years includes the construction of water supply systems, implementation of the Revised National Water Policy, implementation of the Buffer Zone Policy, continuous monitoring of water resources, development of the National Drinking Water Quality Management Framework, as well as the rollout of the Water Safety Plans.”
Mr. Chinnia encouraged all to advocate for the sustainable management of water. He said the equitable and sustainable utilisation of water resources will engender peaceful coexistence in the country and beyond.
“Everyone needs to continue advocating for the sustainable management of water to promote a more equitable and sustainable utilisation of our water resources to engender peaceful coexistence in the country.”
He said the government and its partners will continue to invest in the water sector to ensure access to safe and clean water for all without conflicts. He asked partners, especially the media, to continuously highlight the importance of water to the daily lives of people as well as national development.
Globally, about three billion people depend on water resources for sustenance. It is estimated that about 40 percent of this population faces water scarcity. This is further projected to increase by 55% by 2050.
