The newly appointed Deputy Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Honourable. Amidu Issahaku Chinnia (MP), has paid a working visit to the CWSA Head Office on Monday 5th June, 2021.
The purpose of the visit was for the Deputy Minister to introduce himself to staff of the Agency and to acquaint himself with the operations and challenges of the Agency.
Amidu Issahaku Chinmia was accompanied by the Director of Water, Mr. Donnan Tay and the Director of Human Resource, Mrs. Mrs. Jennifer Buabeng.
Explaining the purpose of his visit, Hon. Chinmia said he wanted to have a good understanding of the mandates of all the institutions and agencies working under the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources to enable him effectively assist the sector Minister, Hon. Cecilia Dapaa to develop policies and make the appropriate decisions in tackling the challenges facing the Rural Water and Sanitation Sub-Sector.
The Hon. Deputy Minister informed management and staff of the CWSA that the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources is determined to make a significant improvement of safe water delivery to Ghanaians in rural communities and small towns as well as improve the general sanitation situation in the country.
He indicated that upon his assumption of office, H.E the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, informed him about the tasked ahead of him including the need for him to support his Sector Minister to achieve the government of Ghana’s vision in making Accra the cleanness city in Africa by the end of the second term of president, and to also provide quality, safe and accessible drinking water for Ghanaians.
Hon. Issahaku Amidu, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Sisala East Constituency in the Upper West Region, assured the CWSA of the unwavering commitment of Hon. Cecilia Dapaa and his good self in supporting the sector reforms initiated by the CWSA, in order to effectively and efficiently deliver on its expanded mandate.
Touching on challenges facing the CWSA refoms, the Sisala East Legislature, Hon. Chimnia reiterated the preparedness of he and his Minister in providing the necessary leadership in initiating the appropriate dialogue between the Ghana Water Company Limited and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency in determining and agreeing on their operational boundaries.
The goal he said, would be for the two leading sector institutions to be able to focus on providing sustainable services to the people of Ghana under their jurisdictions and mandates and not engaged in a turf war.
Hon. Issahaku, stressed that the reforms currently being embarked upon by the CWSA would undoubtedly address a lot of challenges affecting the smooth operations of the Agency.
He was happy that the CWSA is making great strides in this regard adding that signs of success of the reform are visible throughout the country.
The reform, according to him, would further expand the scope of the operations of the CWSA, which will require additional recruitment of water management professionals such as Engineers, Accountants, Revenue Officers, Community Relations Officers and Water Safety Specialists to sustainably manage the water systems throughout the country.
This increased requirement in the human resource capacity of the CWSA is providing job opportunities to several young graduates who otherwise would have joined the band wagon of the unemployed youth in the country.
The expanded CWSA will also be able to provide water in the long term to unserved and under-served communities in rural areas and small towns, he said.
The Hon. Deputy Minister therefore expressed his commitment to be an advocate for the course of Community Water and Sanitation Agency’s reform agenda, which he believes, would lead to the provision of quality, safe and reliable drinking water to people in its operational areas in Ghana.
Hon. Issahaku also indicated his resolved to run an open door administration and will therefore, welcome valuable suggestions that will help him to execute the tasks assigned to him by H.E. the President as Deputy Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources. He used the rare privilege to highly commend the CWSA staff for their commitment to ensuring that the hinterlands in the country get access to potable drinking water.
The Hon. MP lauded the Agency’s quest to address issues of sanitation and hygienic in Ghana.
He praised the Chief Executive, Ign. Worlanyo Siabi for his visionary leadership, the professionalism and efficiency, focus, innovation and hard work of the staff of the CWSA which have yielded great results pushing the Rural WASH Sector forward.
He then expressed his gratitude to the Management and the Staff for the warm courtesies extended to him and his entourage during his visit to the CWSA head office, in spite of the short notice. He entreated
the Staff to support the Chief Executive in his quest to achieve the objectives and goals of the CWSA reforms.
In his welcome remarks, the Chief Executive, Ing. Worlanyo Kwadjo Siabi, lamented the challenges affecting the progress of the reform including, inadequate funding to the Agency, huge water losses or non-revenue water, high electricity tariffs and operational costs, and the threat emanating from some overlapping areas of operation between the Ghana Water Company Limited and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency which post a serious danger to the very existence of the CWSA in the future.
He entreated the Deputy Minister to take these issues up with the sector Minister for a quick and lasting resolution which if not tackled with the needed urgency could render the CWSA financially insolvent.
He was very unhappy with the situation between the GWCL and CWSA and earnestly entreated the Hon. Deputy Minister to take the issues up with the Hon. Minister for a quick and lasting solution.
Updating the Deputy Ministers of the progress the Agency is making on its reforms, Ing, Mr. Worlanyo, Kwadjo Siabi, disclosed that the CWSA is investing hugely in the area of Solar Energy power infrastructure that would help to operationalize the Smart Pumps currently being installed in some communities, the move according to him would significantly reduce electricity bills from the ECG to the CWSA.
The Agency, he emphasized, is developing several APPS using staff with the required skills and capacity in order to digitize its operations including billing system and revenue collection as well as human resource management.
Access to water is being automated in many small town communities with the installation of the SmartTap technology on community standpipes which allows customers to access water 24/7 using prepaid tokens loaded with credit.
According to the Chief Executive, the CWSA reforms have created jobs for almost 2000 water management professionals and auxiliary staff.
The Agency is currently directly managing 168 Small Towns Piped Water Systems nationwide.
He assured the Hon Deputy Minister that the Community Water and Sanitation Agency would do whatever in it can under the constrains to work assiduously in order to expedite the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 6) set out by the United Nations (UN), with regards to sustainable management of water and sanitation in the rural communities in Ghana.
The Chief Executive appealed to the Deputy Minister, to as a matter of a priority, endeavour to push for more allocation of financial resources to the CWSA for the sustainable maintenance and efficient management of the huge water infrastructure under the care of the Agency.
The Director of Planning and Investments, Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim Adokor, made a very comprehensive presentation on the mandate of the CWSA, achievements and challenges as well as the status of the Sector Reforms initiated by the Agency since 2017. BACKGROUND
The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) was established by an Act of Parliament in December 1998, Act 564, with the mandate to “Facilitate the provision of safe drinking water and related sanitation services to Rural Communities and Small Towns in Ghana”.
The Agency is currently undergoing reforms aimed at transforming itself into a utility services organisation with an expanded mandate to include direct professional management of its piped water systems.
The reformed CWSA in its Vision aspires to be a “Leading Public Sector Rural Water Services Delivery Organisation in Africa”, with a “Commitment to Efficient Delivery of Safe and Sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services to Rural Communities and Small Towns in Ghana” as its Mission.
Source: Ghana Web
