Cecilia Dapaah
GHANA’S WATER supply coverage under President Akufo-Addo has improved, Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has said.
According to her, as evidenced by the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) Report, government, in the last five years, has improved Ghana’s water supply coverage, particularly in the urban and rural water supply subsectors to 96.4% and 74.4% respectively, to meet the growing industrial and household water demands in the country.
She disclosed this yesterday in Accra during a press briefing organised by the Ministry of Information to provide regular updates on government policies and programmes.
“Water delivery has seen a remarkable improvement over the past five years. This is evidenced by the 2021 PHC Report released by the Ghana Statistical Services in February 2022, which puts the percentage of households with access to basic drinking water services nation-wide at 87.7%. According to the PHC Report, urban population with access to basic water supply services is 96.4% and 74.4% in the rural areas,” she said.
Ms. Dapaah said such figures reflect the massive investments by government in the water sector, which are geared towards bringing improved water services to the doorsteps of Ghanaians.
She said the interventions by government in the sector are expected to add over 4.3 million beneficiaries to the national water supply chain, massively improving the country’s access to water.
Despite this improvement, the minister said considerable efforts are still required in the sector to make sure Ghana has a universal access to water. She continued that plans are far advanced to provide each region with at least a water supply project under government’s “Water for All” agenda.
Providing details, the minister said eight (8) major water supply projects across the country are at various stages of implementation.
These include the Upper East Water Supply Project, Yendi Water Supply Project, Tamale Water Supply Project, Damongo Water Supply Project, Wenchi Water Supply Project, Sunyani Water Supply Project, Keta Water Supply Project, and the Sekondi-Takoradi Water Supply Project.