Mole XXII ,towards a decentralized service delivery

3. FOREWORD
All too soon the 22nd version of the Mole Conference Series “Mole XXII” has come to pass. Like most
organic systems, Mole is conceived, implemented and ends temporarily where all participants depart for
their various destinations. The follow-up work involves accounting for resources utilized, preparation and
distribution of reports and communiqué and the implementation of the Communiqué by the various
stakeholders. What we cannot take away from the conference is the seriousness with which business was
conducted and the fun, camaraderie and networking it generated as the days rolled by.
This year's conference was significant in two dimensions; it is the first time in 22 years that the Mole Series
has been held in the Western Region and secondly, at the time that commercial quantities of oil have been
found in this Region. The theme and sub-themes of the Conference were therefore appropriate for the
environment within which it was held.
The conference had about 30 presentations and seven panel discussions including views from the
Community Level – the WATSAN Committees. The new approach to facilitate the conference exhibition
was highly appreciated.
The theme was as relevant as the issues which were raised and discussed during the Conference. These
issues are not ends in themselves but have created space for further work including advocacy which
should be underpinned by evidence-based research. For instance, the implications of mining (arsenic in
water) on water resources in relation to peoples' health and livelihoods need further in-depth studies
involving Ministries of Health, Water Resources, Works and Housing/Water Resources Commission and
Environmental Protection Agency. It is now known that the Oil Revenue
Management Act has some flexibility with respect to allocating resources for essential social services
which include water, sanitation and hygiene services. Sector players have to develop strategies to ensure
WASH Services get a fair share of the resources. What is the preparedness and capacities of the districts
within the catchment area of the oil found to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the oil as well
as to deal with the risks associated with exploration?
As we read this report we have to ask ourselves one question which is “what can I do to ensure that our
unfortunate brothers and sisters, who through no fault of theirs do not have access to improved WASH
Services, will have access to them.” WASH Services are human rights issues and by excluding some
people means abusing their rights. How many of them know Busua Beach Resort? It is not only important
but critical as well to ensure that at least YOU make a contribution towards the realization of ONE of the
points in the Communiqué so that in our next meeting, we will not only ask CONIWAS Secretariat what
happened to the Communiqué but OURSELVES what did we do to make the Communiqué a reality. This
is the kind of reflection I would like all of us to make when reading this report.
I look forward to meeting you again next year
Mrs. Victoria Daaku
Chairperson - CONIWAS
ii

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The successes achieved at this year's Mole Conference, Mole XXII, was as a result of team efforts made
possible by individuals and organisations that were associated with the design and implementation of the
Conference. The Executive Committee of CONIWAS and the Mole XXII Planning Committee would like to
express their appreciation to these individuals and organisations for successfully executing their roles. To be
more specific the Executive Committee would like to express its profound appreciation to the Planning
Committee chaired by Abu Wumbei of RCN/IRC. Members of the Committee included Mrs Cecilia Mensah
(ProNet Accra), Mrs. Mariam Don-Chebe (RUWIDE), Mr.John B Yorke(Fountain Life Care), Benjamin Lartey
(CONIWAS Secretariat/GLONEHDO), and Kwesi Crampah (ACDEP). The Committee also would like to
thank Mr. Yaw Owusu-Sekyere of Conservation Foundation, who together with Mr. Yorke constituted the
Local Organizing Committee and undertook all the leg-work in the Western Region.
To the dignitaries and invited guests who honoured the initiation to grace the occasion, CONIWAS would
forever be grateful for your support. In particular the Ministers of Water Resources, Works and Housing, -
Honourable Alban Bagbin, Local Government and Rural Development,- Honourable Samuel Ofosu
Ampofo, Deputy Minister, Western Region – Honourable Emelia Arthur, the Omanhene of Lower Dixcove
Traditional Area, Nana Kwesi Agyeman and Nana Ndede Wusu.
For WaterAid, Plan Ghana, UNICEF, Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Ministries of Water
Resources, Works and Housing and Local Government, Water Resources Commission, Ghana Water
Company Limited who inspired the conference with their solidarity messages, we say thank you very much.
The role of Chief Executive Officers/Directors of the various organisations and agencies are also highly
appreciated. In particular Dr. Esther Offei Aboagye of ILGS, Clement Bogase (CWSA), Naa Demedeme
Lenason (EHSD/MLGRD), Dr. Alhassan Somani (Water Directorate/MWRWH), Mr. Benjamin Ampomah
(WRC), Mr. Kwaku Botwe (GWCL) and Mr. Othniel Habila (UNICEF).
The soul of the conference was the various presentations made by the experts. This provided the platform
for all the discussions. The Planning Committee of Mole XXII would like to express its profound gratitude to
all the resource persons who made presentations at the Conference. Dr. David Osei Wusu of ILGS who
delivered the Keynote Address deserves special thanks. The Committee further expresses its appreciation
to Patrick Apoya and Martin Judas Bangbie Dery who facilitated the conference to its successful conclusion.
Mr. Apoya worked with the Planning Committee to develop the Background Paper and the sub-themes. We
thank you both.
For the participants, the Planning Committee owes you a debt of gratitude for the role you played during the
conference. Your patience, level of participation and your ability to endure long sessions exceeded the
expectations of the Planning Committee. We thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences with the
Sector through the Mole Conference.
Whilst the presentations were the soul of the conference, finances sought to provide the lifeline to every
aspect of the conference. Indeed, the Planning Committee would like to express its thanks to all
organisations and individuals who provided financial and material resources to make the conference a
success. Some of these are WaterAid, DANIDA, CIDA, UNICEF, RCN, MWRWH/WD, CWSA, Plan Ghana,
Relief International, GWCL, The World Bank and Polytank
For our team of Rapporteurs/Communication team who worked tirelessly to make sure that daily
proceedings were not only captured but also made available to participant the following day, the Committee
says Ayekoo. The team ensured that the Mole Conference website was regularly updated. Members in the
team included Janet Lamisi Dabire (Tripple–S/CWSA), Sandra Cletcher-king (WaterAid), Abu Wumbei, Ida
Coleman, (RCN); Emmanuel Adisenu (ProNet Accra). We are reading this report because of the efforts of
these people. However, the Committee wants express its gratitude to Emmanuel Addai (WSMP) for pulling
together all the information which constitutes this report.
For the Staff of CONIWAS Secretariat in Accra, who also doubled as Conference Secretariat Staff, the
Planning Committee says well done. You served as the hub of conference but your patience and person-
relation skills were all what the conference needed to achieve success and you exhibited these qualities
beyond expectations. These included Aku Sika Afeku, Gloria Annan, Douglas Adjei, Basilia Nanbigne,
Cecilia Mensah,John Yorke, Benjamin Lartey, and O.Y. Owusu-Sekyere. The Committee also would like to
thank Conservation Foundation for seconding two of its staff – Welheimina Owusu and Mavis Dzadey to
support the Secretariat.
Last but not the least the Planning Committee would like thank the Management and Staff of Busua Beach
Resort for their wonderful services and support and ensuring that the Conference was a success
Front Cover photo credits: Oyvind Hagen StatoilHydro, Water Resources Commission,
ProNet North, CONIWAS
iii

5. Table of Content
TITLE PAGE ........................................................................................................................................... I
FORWARD.............................................................................................................................................. II
ACKNOWLEDGMENT .......................................................................................................................... III
TABLE OF CONTENT ...........................................................................................................................IV
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................................V
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................6
MOLE XXII CONFERENCE COMMUNIQUÉ ....................................................................................7 - 8
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................9
BRIEF BACKGROUND OF THE MOLE CONFERENCE SERIES .........................................................9
BACKGROUND OF MOLE XXII .............................................................................................................9
CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES ...............................................................................................................9
SCOPE OF THE CONFERENCE ................................................................................................... 9 - 10
CONFERENCE APPROACH ................................................................................................................11
OPENING CEREMONY ........................................................................................................................12
CHAIRMAN'S OPENING REMARKS ...................................................................................................12
WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE DEPUTY WESTERN REGIONAL MINISTER ...................................12
WELCOME STATEMENT BY CONIWAS..............................................................................................12
GOODWILL MESSAGES .....................................................................................................................13
THEME ADDRESS ...............................................................................................................................14
KEYNOTE ADDRESS AND LAUNCH OF MOLE CONFERENCE WEBSITE ......................................15
WASH SECTOR OVERVIEW ...............................................................................................................15
GUINEA WORM ERADICATION IN GHANA ........................................................................................16
SUMMARY OF PAPER PRESENTATIONS ..........................................................................................17
GOVERNANCE, ACCOUNTABILITY AND AID/DEVELOPMENT EFFECTIVENESS IN THE WASH
SECTOR ........................................................................................................................................17 - 19
DEALING WITH LONG TERM FINANCING FOR WASH ............................................................ 20 - 21
NATURAL RESOURCE (OIL, GAS, MINING) EXPLORATION AND IMPLICATIONS ON WASH.. 22-23
SCALING UP SANITATION AND HYGIENE ...............................................................................24 - 26
NEW INITIATIVES.................................................................................................................................27
SWA: A GLOBAL FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION – OPPORTUNITIES FOR CIVIL SOCIETY
ENGAGEMENT ....................................................................................................................................27
THE GHANA (SWA) COMPACT ...........................................................................................................27
THE SECTOR WIDE APPROACH (SWAP) AND THE STRATEGIC SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PLAN
(SSDP) ..................................................................................................................................................27
THE MDG ACCELERATION FRAMEWORK (MAF): GHANA COUNTRY ACTION PLAN ON
SANITATION .........................................................................................................................................28
CWSA WATER SAFETY FRAMEWORK ..............................................................................................28
SECTOR LEARNING.............................................................................................................................28
IRC INTERNATIONAL WATER AND SANITATION CENTRE ..............................................................28
WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE TECHNOLOGIES (WASHTECH) PROJECT .........................29
SUSTAINABLE WATER SERVICES DELIVERY IN RURAL AREAS (SWSD) .....................................29
GHANA WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE (G-WASH) PROJECT ..............................................29
SCIENTISTS NETWORKED FOR OUTCOMES FROM WATER AND SANITATION (SNOWS) .........29
AFRICAN WOMEN LEADERSHIP IN WASH (WATERAID).................................................................29
AWARDS FOR CONTRIBUTION TO MOLE SERIES ..........................................................................30
CLOSING CEREMONY ........................................................................................................................30
ANNEX 1 ...................................................................................................................................... 31 - 33
ANNEX 2 ...................................................................................................................................... 34 - 41
MOLE XXII IN PICTURES ........................................................................................................... 42 - 46
iv

6. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AfDB - African Development Bank
AVRL - Aqua Vitens Rand Limited
CEOs - Chief Executive Officers
CIDA - Canadian International Development Agency
CLTS - Community-led Total Sanitation
CONIWAS - Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation
CSO - Civil Society Organization
CWSA - Community Water and Sanitation Agency
DA - District Assembly
DANIDA - Danish International Development Agency
DfID - (UK) Department for International Development
DPs - Development Partners
EHSD - Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate
EPA - Environmental Protection Agency
ESA - External Support Agency
EU - European Union
GDP - Gross Domestic Product
GH¢ - Ghana Cedi
GoG - Government of Ghana
GSS - Ghana Statistical Service
GTZ - German Technical Cooperation
GWCL - Ghana Water Company Limited
GWF - Ghana Water Forum
GWJN - Ghana Watsan Journalists Network
GWSC - Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation
HSD - Hydrological Services Department
IWSPMF- Improvement of Water Sector Performance Management Framework (Project)
JMP - WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme
JTC /IWRM Joint Technical Committee for Integrated Water Resources Management
LA - Learning Alliance
LI - legislative Instrument
M&E - Monitoring and Evaluation
MDG - Millennium Development Goal
MLGRD- Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development
MMDA - Metropolitan/Municipal/District Assembly
MWRWH Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing
NCWSP - National Community Water and Sanitation Programme
NESSAP - National Environmental Sanitation Strategy and Action Plan
NGO - Non Governmental Organization
NLLAP - National Level Learning Alliance Platform
PURC - Public Utility Regulatory Commission
RCN - Resource Centre Network
RWSP - Rural Water and Sanitation Project
SHEP - School Hygiene Education Programme
SIP - Sector Investment Plan
SWAp - Sectorwide Approach
TPP - Tripartite Partnership
UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund
VBA - Volta Basin Authority
VIP - Ventilated Improved Pit (latrine)
WASH - Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
WATSAN Water and Sanitation
WHO - World Health Organization
WRC - Water Resources Commission
WSDBs - Water and Sanitation Development Boards
WSMP - Water and Sanitation Monitoring Platform
WVI - World Vision International
v

7. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Mole XXII Conference was held from 9th to 13th August at Busua in the Western Region. It was
organized by the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) with support from WaterAid,
DANIDA, CIDA, UNICEF, RCN, MWRWH/WD, CWSA, Plan Ghana, Relief International and Polytank.
The opening ceremony was performed by the Omanhene of Lower Dixcove Traditional Area, Nana Kwesi
Agyeman and the Deputy Western Regional Minister, Ms. Emelia Arthur.
Theme for this year's conference was '“Towards Decentralized WASH Services Delivery: Challenges and
Lessons.” The main objective of the conference was to take stock, share experiences, challenges,
lessons and the way forward on the effort towards decentralized water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
services delivery. More specifically the conference:
·Discussed the sustainability of WASH Services with respect to water supply in general and small town
water supply in particular;
·Identified and discussed the implications of oil, gas and the mining industry to the WASH resources,
particularly in the Western Region; and
·Discussed mechanisms for scaling up the Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach.
Presentations and discussions centred on
· Governance, Accountability and Aid/Development Effectiveness in the WASH sector;
· Dealing with long term financing for small town systems;
· Oil, Gas, Mining and its implications in the WASH sector;
· Scaling up Sanitation and Hygiene.
· Innovations and New Initiatives in the WASH Sector
There was also an exhibition session throughout the conference, where innovations and knowledge
management materials were displayed for participants to appreciate what experiences and lessons, as
well as new technologies are available to the WASH sector.
In conclusion, Mole XXII the following recommendations among several others:
·The oil, gas and mining industry possess tremendous economic benefits to the country. However, their
negative effects on water resources and other water infrastructure, especially in areas where they are
explored are overwhelming. In this regard, the conference called for review of some of the mining laws to
minimize their impacts on water and other resources and also do better environmental impact
assessments. The conference proposed the setting up of a team of experts to constantly engage
government and parliament on WASH sector financing.
·Since water and sanitation have been declared part of essential services, the sector should be listed
among the top four priority areas for investments from the oil revenue as a source of sustainable funding
for the sector. Part of these allocations from the oil revenue could be used to support District Assemblies to
in turn support communities manage WASH services to promote sustainability.
·With proof of Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) as a potential to propel Ghana to attain its MDG
target on sanitation faster, there should be conscious efforts by MMDAs to incorporate CLTS as well as
District CLTS Implementation Roadmaps in their various District Environmental Sanitation Strategy and
Action Plans (DESSAPs) as a matter of urgency.
In the end the conference was described as very successful in terms of participation and organization, and
very relevant in the terms the theme and the focus. Nana Ndede Wusu, on behalf of the Omanhene of
Ahanta, congratulated the organizers of the conference and the participants and expressed hope that the
core issues discussed would be taken forward. The Vice Chairman of CONIWAS also thanked
participants for their support and hoped that the decisions taken would be acted upon.
6

8. MOLE XXII CONFERENCE COMMUNIQUÉ
Theme: ''Towards Decentralized WASH Services Delivery: Challenges and Lessons"
Busua Beach Resort, Busua – Western Region, Ghana
9th – 13th August 2011
PREAMBLE
We the participants of Mole XXII Conference,
·Recognizing the key role of decentralized institutions in the management of water resources, WASH
service delivery and sustainability of WASH facilities;
·Recognizing Governance, Aid/Development Effectiveness and Accountability as critical in ensuring
effective and sustainable WASH services for all;
·Concerned about finding sustainable financing for the WASH Sector;
·Concerned about the effects of mining, oil and gas exploration on WASH; and
·Determined to support the scaling up of CLTS in Ghana as a viable sanitation promotion approach,
Do hereby agree to the conclusions of the Conference and issue this Communiqué as follows:
Governance, Accountability and Aid/Development Effectiveness - Actions
1. Ghana has the relevant structures to ensure good governance, accountability and aid effectiveness in
the WASH sector. The Government, Development Partners and CSOs should work together, develop the
necessary systems and checks and balances, to ensure that all laid down principles, procedures,
regulations and laws are complied with to the letter.
Responsibility: Government, DPs, CSOs, Media
2. A systematic process of gathering information on NGO/CSO contribution to the WASH Sector, including
facility delivery, innovations and financing should be put in place and periodically collated and made
available for capture in the Annual Sector Performance Report.
Responsibility: CONIWAS
3. The NGO fraternity should deepen their partnership with relevant local stakeholders to ensure that
decentralized and mandated institutions that are responsible for WASH service delivery take charge of
their obligations.
Responsibility: CONIWAS
4. Current efforts at establishing sector information systems should take into consideration the inadequate
information and data on what happens at the decentralized level, which sets new challenges for
addressing corruption and improving transparency and accountability in the WASH sector.
Responsibility: Water Directorate, EHSD, CWSA, CONIWAS
5. The Sector Strategic Development Plan (SSDP) is the hub of the success of the Sector Wide Approach.
All stakeholders, including NGOs and Development Partners, should show commitment to supporting and
complying with the principles contained in the plan.
Responsibility: Water Directorate, EHSD
6. A communiqué monitoring team should be set up to develop a monitoring plan with time-bound
indicators to track progress of Mole Conference outcomes with the responsibility to report back at
subsequent conferences.
Responsibility: CONIWAS
Dealing with Long-term Financing for WASH - Actions
7. While we recognize the renewed commitments in the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) Compact, we
also wish to draw government attention to the fact that the 2011 commitments were not fully met.
Government and partners should fulfill the agreed commitment fully in subsequent budgets.
Responsibility: Water Directorate, EHSD, CONIWAS, MoFEP
8. Direct support cost and capital maintenance expenditure are essential elements for sustainable small
town water supply delivery. Led by the Government with effective support from all partners, a mechanism
should be established for direct support for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to
manage small town systems beyond the project phase.
Responsibility: Water Directorate, CWSA, MMDAs
7

9. 9. A well constituted WASH sector team/platform should be established to develop a strategy to engage the
Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP) to periodically discuss WASH financing and
budgetary gaps. The Team shall also have additional responsibility of exploring other innovative long-term
financing options for WASH.
Responsibility: Water Directorate, EHSD, CONIWAS
10. Attempts by CWSA to develop a framework, based on water quality, sustainability and functionality
indicators, to undertake national sustainability audit and functionality mapping exercise on existing
systems should be encouraged and supported.
Responsibility: Water Directorate, EHSD, CONIWAS, CWSA
11. To respect individuals' right to safe drinking water, any institution providing drinking water is required to
ensure that Ghana's water safety standards are met. In this respect, efforts should be made for an
innovative and sustainable funding mechanism for CWSA's Water Safety Framework.
Responsibility: MWRWH, MLGRD, CWSA, MMDAs,
12. All WASH interventions should recognize the central role of communities in sustainable WASH service
delivery and allocate adequate resources for community mobilization and capacity building.
Responsibility: CWSA, CONIWAS, ILGS, MMDAs
13. To increase the chances of long-term funding and sustainability of rural and small town WASH
services, current sector efforts at highlighting and promoting the District Ownership and Management
(DOM) component of the Community Ownership and Management (COM) concept must be intensified
and accelerated.
Responsibility: CWSA, MMDAs
Mining, Oil and Gas exploration and implications in the WASH Sector -Actions
14. There is evidence that the mining and oil industry has brought more pressure on the quality of water
resources and WASH service delivery through pollution and migration. There should therefore be
intensified advocacy to ensure that WASH is considered among the top four priorities for petroleum (and
mining) revenue investments to mitigate the impact.
Responsibility: Water Directorate, EHSD, CONIWAS, WRC, EPA
15. With the increase in migration and tourist attractions to some MMDAs in the Western Region as a result
of the oil find, Government should improve the human and logistical capacities of the affected MMDAs in
the region to respond to the expected pressure on WASH infrastructure and services.
Responsibility: Water Directorate, EHSD, CONIWAS, MMDAs
Scaling up Sanitation and Hygiene - Actions
16. With Ghana's sanitation coverage of 13% as our national shame, and with proof of Community Led
Total Sanitation (CLTS) as a potential to propel Ghana to attain its MDG target on sanitation faster, there
should be conscious efforts by MMDAs to incorporate CLTS as well as District CLTS Implementation
Roadmaps in their various District Environmental Sanitation Strategy and Action Plans (DESSAPs) as a
matter of urgency.
Responsibility: MLGRD/EHSD/MMDAs
17. To facilitate the scaling up of CLTS at the local level, government should immediately establish
Regional Inter Agency Coordinating Committees on Sanitation (RICCs) and District Inter Agency
Coordinating Committees on Sanitation (DICCs) in all Regions and Districts by Regional Environmental
Health Units and Regional Water and Sanitation Teams (RWSTs). There should also be intensive
orientation for District Environmental Health Officers on the CLTS approach.
Responsibility: MLGRD/EHSD/MMDAs
8

10. INTRODUCTION
Brief Background of the Mole Conference Series
A group of non-state actors in the Water and Sanitation Sector in Ghana organized a national conference
in the Mole National Park in 1989 to deliberate on various policy issues affecting the sector and to build
capacity of local actors, basically NGOs, in experience sharing and articulation of emerging issues for
government and broader stakeholder attention. Following the successful outcomes from this maiden
conference, it was agreed by stakeholders to maintain the tradition of organising such a conference
annually.
Duly as agreed, the conference has been organized annually since 1989 by the NGOs and has served as
a useful and, until the introduction of the Ghana Water Forum, the largest WASH Sector forum for reviews,
learning and advocacy.
Participation in the Mole Conference has involved civil society actors, development partners, international
actors, government, academia and private practitioners. The Mole Series has contributed tremendously
to sector policy initiation and formulation, sector profile raising, sector coordination and sector learning.
Currently, the conference is convened by the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS),
which is an offshoot of the Mole Series. The name Mole Conference was derived from the name of the
venue for the first of the series in 1989 – the Mole National Park.
Background of Mole XXII
The central tenet of the National Community Water and Sanitation Programme is to ensure sustainable
management of WASH services provision to communities with minimal external support after the facilities
have been provided. This is to be achieved by a well crafted national strategy, which ensures:
·Community management of services, implying ownership and control, as a central element of the
strategy;
·A central role by District Assemblies in supporting community management
·A key role by Government in promoting service provision;
·A role for the formal and informal private sector in provision of goods and services;
·Ensuring equity and widespread coverage through targeted subsidies supporting basic service levels;
·A demand-driven programme, with self-selection and clear commitment by communities to enhance
sustainability, and
·A special focus on women, as both the users of water as well as planners, operators and managers of
community level systems.
Among others, the strategy is expected to ensure that communities own and manage the water systems
through established structures to provide all year round potable water from the facility. Community
ownership in turn was to be secured through the demand driven approach, which ensures that beneficiary
communities commit themselves to the full ownership and management of facilities and assure
sustainability of delivered facilities. This approach is in line with the decentralization policy of Ghana which
makes the District Assemblies the responsible agents for local development. Mole principally examined
how the expected goals of sustainable decentralized WASH services delivery were being met.
Conference Objectives
The key objectives of the conference was to take stock, share experiences, challenges, lessons and the
way forward on the effort towards decentralized water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services delivery.
The specific objectives of the workshop were to:
1. Discuss the sustainability of WASH Services with respect to small town water supply
2.To identify and discuss the implications of Oil and Gas industry to the WASH resources in Western
Region
3.To gain consensus on mechanisms for expanding CLTS and in a way which enable people move up the
sanitation ladder
Scope of the Conference
The conference covered five sub themes, namely:
·Governance, Accountability and Aid Effectiveness in the WASH sector
·Dealing with long term financing for small town systems
·Oil and Gas and its implications in the WASH sector
9

11. ·Scaling up Sanitation and Hygiene- The CLTS factor
·Innovations/new initiatives
Each theme would be dealt by an expert group of presenters and discussants, either in parallel or plenary.
An overview of each sub theme is presented below:
Governance, Accountability and Aid Effectiveness in the WASH sector
The Paris Declaration on Aid-Effectiveness, the Accra Agenda for Action and the European Union Code of
Conduct all commit Development Partners to improve Aid Effectiveness. Poor governance has been
blamed for most of the crisis in WASH today, especially with regard to effective local government
leadership, transparent and accountable conduct of service providers, be they public, private or not-for-
profit. As one of the pillars of the Paris Declaration, government-led processes should be driving
development processes, based on a single national plan to which all and donors are expected to align their
programmes and activities. Ghana has taken giant strides to harmonize procedures and programmes
amongst the myriad of players in the WASH sector. A Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) is underway, so is a
Sector Strategic Development Plan (SSDP). This conference examined how these initiatives would in
practice help to:
·Bridge the gap between international declarations and practical implementation of those declarations.
·Improve efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery
·Increase community participation in decision making at all levels
·Strengthen sector governance,
·Improve transparency and accountability of duty bearers to communities
Dealing with Long-term Financing for Small Town Systems
Small towns systems have been successful to some degree in meeting operation and maintenance costs
with minimal external support. What is clear is that no system has yet been able to demonstrate that it is
capable of meeting the replacement costs of the system effectively when the system outlives its current
lifespan. Inadequate savings, inflation, depreciation of the cedi and political interference combine to
further complicate this problem. For the goal of meeting all costs including future replacement costs to be
met, small towns need to seek money market solutions for tailored made financial products, or to plug unto
existing ones. They also need innovative risk protection mechanisms to insulate them from catastrophic
events that result in huge financial outlays for repairs. This could be anything from orthodox insurance, to a
custom designed mutual insurance mechanism that builds on the strengths of these water systems. There
were discussions during the conference as an attempt to find and suggest solutions for the overall
financing and sustainability of small town water systems.
Oil and Gas and its implications in the WASH sector
The emergence of the oil and gas industry in Ghana has ramifying implications for the WASH sector in
Ghana. The Western Region, which is home to the oil discovery, is already experiencing a boom in
tourism. The number of visitors trooping to the region, and seeking permanent or temporary stay is on the
increase. With a high price tag on housing, less wealthy people will have to give way to wealthier visitors
who are able to pay a better price for the choicest apartments in the choicest parts of the cities. This means
the poor would gradually be displaced to the peri-urban areas, or those sections of the city with no or less
reliable services. The demand for WASH services would outstrip the capacity of the already overstretched
municipal or district authorities. The consequences could be dire for local government authorities, citizens
and central government. The conference facilitated a serious reflection on the situation and proposed
measures as to how districts in the affected districts region could better prepare against an imminent
WASH crisis.
Scaling up Sanitation and Hygiene- The CLTS factor
CLTS is the new song in the sector. Whilst some countries that chose this path have every reason to
celebrate their success, other countries that chose the same path are less able to do so. For instance, in
Nigeria, sector players have recently expressed concerns that communities that have attained ODF
status hardly show any sign that they would move up the sanitation ladder. The conference reviewed how
far Ghana is progressing with the CLTS agenda, and whether there are any early signs of ultimate
success.
Innovations/New Initiatives
Since Mole XXI, there has been new developments in the WASH Sector of which Sector practitioners and
Stakeholders may not be aware and have not been able to contribute or share their experiences on.
10

12. OPENING CEREMONY
Chairman's Opening Remarks
The opening ceremony was chaired by the Omanhene of Lower Dixcove Traditional Area, Nana Kwesi
Agyeman. In his brief address, the Omanhene said nothing in this world can be successful without water
and therefore underscored the need to preserve it and ensure everyone has access to potable water. He
expressed gratitude to the organizers for choosing his traditional area as the preferred venue for such a
conference. He welcomed all participants to the Lower Dixcove Traditional Area and expressed a wish for
fruitful deliberations during the conference. He offered to provide any necessary support upon request
from the conference organizers.
Welcome Address by the Deputy Western Regional Minister
The Deputy Western Regional Minister, Hon Emelia Arthur, in her welcome address, acknowledged the
role that Mole Series has played in shaping WASH sector policy and commended civil society for initiating
and sustaining such platform.
On sanitation, the Deputy Regional Minister said 'we are all aware that poor sanitation is affecting society
in so many negative ways and is undesirable since it is avoidable.' She called for identification,
documentation and scaling up of best practices. She also added her voice to the call for inter agency
coordination for effective WASH service delivery.
On decentralization, the Deputy Minister said because there are challenges in the process including weak
capacity of DAs, WASH services have not been the best at the local level. She expressed hope that the
conference would come out with suggestions for a better way forward. These suggestions could include
innovative ways of improving the capacities of Unit Committees to support the management of WASH
facilities.
She pledged the support of the Western Regional Coordinating Council for innovative WASH
interventions and officially welcomed participants to the Region.
Welcome Statement by CONIWAS
Vice Chairman of CONIWAS, Farouk Braimah, in a welcome address, briefed participants on follow-up
efforts on the 2010 Mole Conference recommendations on climate change. He said follow up activities
included awareness raising events for its members and the general public on the impacts of climate
change especially on WASH. These Activities, he said, included press briefings, policy dialogues, and
participation in series of climate change-related workshops aimed at working on a national strategy on
climate change.
The Vice Chairman highlighted a number WASH-related issues needing attention. These are as follows:
·Though the Western Region is endowed with rich natural resources including mineral deposits and
especially the recent oil find, the nation is yet to fully appreciate the negative consequences of the
exploration of these resources on especially WASH services delivery in the Region. These include
pollution of water bodies through chemical contamination, deforestation leading to drying of water bodies,
silting of river bodies, rapid population growth bringing more pressure on existing WASH facilities, oil spill
among others.
·Though commendable the current spate of sector coordination and knowledge management initiatives
taking place in the WASH Sector, including the Ghana Water Forum, National Environmental Sanitation
Conference, Learning Alliance Platforms, Policy and strategy reviews/ development among others,
CONIWAS was concerned about the apparent multiplicity and duplication of some of these
initiatives/forums.
·In spite of the active role that civil society and NGOs play in the WASH Sector, including reaching the
poorest with services and making their voices heard, as well as contribution to policy formulation and
resource mobilization, they have failed to document all such contributions for capture in sector reports to
serve as evidence of such contributions. This has therefore created an M&E gap in the sector.
·While the WASH sector is about 3% of national budget, those of education and health are about 23% and
18% respectively. Meanwhile about 60% of all OPD cases in the country are water, sanitation and
hygiene-related. Apart from the inadequacy of allocations to the WASH sector, there is also an issue with
releases of the funds and absorptive capacities of sector agencies to utilize available funds.
·As a nation, Ghana has failed to treat its waste to the extent that even human excreta is discharged
untreated into water bodies including the sea, while waste polythene has also become a serious
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13. environmental menace. This is in spite of the fact that there exist a number of very good policies,
regulations, bye-laws and strategies for effective sanitation service delivery.
·Though the United Nations has affirmed its commitment to the right to water and that water and sanitation
are now recognized as human rights, Ghana is yet to create the necessary legislative environment to
implement this right in spite of the fact that several millions of Ghanaians still do not have access to water
and sanitation.
With all these challenges, Mr. Braimah said he expected that Mole XXII would provide practical solutions
based on experiences to enable the country accelerate the provision of WASH services in the country. He
thanked WaterAid, DANIDA, CIDA, IRC/RCN, MWRWH/WD, CWSA, Plan Ghana, Relief International
and Polytank for supporting Mole XXII.
Goodwill Messages
There were a number of goodwill messages from some key WASH stakeholders, these include:
WaterAid
The WaterAid message was delivered on behalf of the Country Representative by Ibrahim Musah. She
said WaterAid was privileged to be part of the Mole Conference and found the theme very appropriate and
crucial. She acknowledged that CONIWAS was once again setting the pace in pushing the frontiers to
challenge DAs and its decentralized departments to support the efforts at sustaining of WASH facilities.
She expressed a wish that the conference communiqué would come with its own milestones monitoring
indicators.
Water Resources Commission (WRC)
The WRC message was delivered by Mawuli Lumor. He expressed a strong wish that the conference
would come to a successful end.
Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL)
The GWCL message was delivered by Faustina Berchie. She expressed a wish that discussions would
come out with best solutions and answers for the advancement of the WASH sector.
Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA)
The message from CWSA was delivered by Mike Adjei on behalf of the Chief Executive. He said the CWSA
has supported and participated in all Mole Conferences since the agency was established. This is not only
because it is an important event but also because the agency cherishes its partnership with NGOs in the
sub sector. He said CWSA has facilitated implementation of decentralized WASH projects for more than
ten years in line with government's decentralization policy. He said the agency was prepared to share her
experiences on decentralization at the conference.
Development Partners
The goodwill message from Development Partners (DPs) was delivered by Othniel Habila. He expressed
happiness that the Mole Series had survived for 22 years. He acknowledged that the platform had
provided a great opportunity for progress in WASH over the years. On behalf of DPs, he congratulated
Ghana for eradicating the guinea worm disease. He however outlined a number of issues that needed
redress:
· Representation of WASH in the MMDAs was still not clear;
· Sub national coordination of WASH was weak;
· There was need for institutional capacity development from the national to MMDA levels;
· Sector funding through decentralized institutions was not adequate;
· Access to basic sanitation was poor;
· Open defecation was still rife and a lot needed to be done to stop it;
· There was need to accelerate the promotion of the rural sanitation model;
He said DPs were still committed to supporting the sector especially in confronting urban and peri-urban
sanitation challenges, without which, he said, Ghana would hardly meet her MDG targets for sanitation.
Plan Ghana
Plan Ghana's goodwill message was delivered by Daniel Sarpong on behalf of the Country Director. He
said he was optimistic that the forum would deliver the needed messages to accelerate WASH
development in the country. He said the conference was a great opportunity to inject action into
decentralization of water, sanitation and hygiene services delivery in the country. He said Plan was
actively involved in innovative ways to improve sanitation and this included implementation of SaniMarts
and CLTS. He said a major challenge was how to ensure that decentralized and mandated institutions
take charge of their obligation. He said the support needed include transfer of resources, building of sound
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14. planning and management tools and creation of awareness to make local government prioritize
sanitation. He said Plan was ready to work with CONIWAS and partners in meeting some of these
challenges.
Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate (EHSD)
The message from the EHSD was delivered by Naa Demedeme Lenason. He congratulated CONIWAS
for their interest in WASH and their consistency with the Mole Conference. He said as Ghana is likely to
meet her MDG targets for water, the same cannot be said of sanitation and this poses a great challenge to
the country. He said in the area of policy and strategy development, there was much progress but what
needed to be done was translating these into practical actions to yield results. He said he believed that the
conference would attempt to address some of the fundamental questions on funding, commitment,
priority, coordination, collaboration, political will, and institutional weaknesses.
Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH)
The message from the MWRWH was delivered by Dr. Sumani Alhassan and Mr. Attah Arhin. They
expressed appreciation to CONIWAS for sustaining the Mole Series and their role in moving the WASH
agenda forward and said they cherished its partnership with the coalition.
The successful completion of the National Water Policy, the SWAp process and strategy formulation,
according to the officials, enjoyed massive collaboration from CONIWAS. They acknowledged the
challenges that NGOs go through in their routine activities, which include language barrier, cultural
sensitivities, resource limitations, and dealing with people. They said it takes love for the work and love for
human beings, patience and understanding for which they saluted NGOs for their steadfastness. They
encouraged participants to call on the Ministry for any support whenever necessary.
Theme Address
The theme address for Mole XXII was delivered by Dr. David Osei Wusu of the Institute of Local
Government Studies (ILGS). The address covered the concept of decentralization on WASH, challenges
and lessons.
Decentralization
He defined decentralization as a process by which a central government formally transfers power to
actors and institutions at lower levels in a political/administrative hierarchy. He said it involves transfer of
power, functions, means and competencies from central government to the sub-national structures. In
Ghana, he said, Local Government is a creation of law by the Constitution under section 241 (3), the Local
Government Act 1993 (Act 462), The National Development Planning (system) Act 1994 (Act 480), Local
Government Service Act 2003 (Act 656) and Local Government (Departments of District Assemblies)
Commencement Instrument 2009 (LI 1961).
He outlines various types of decentralization, which included de-concentration, devolution, delegation,
fiscal decentralization, economic decentralization, privatization and public-private partnerships.
He said decentralization is supposed to improve delivery of basic services for citizens at the local level,
while good governance could also work to improve their ability and capacity to become better
administration, raise revenue and deliver high quality services. Another expected benefit of
decentralization is that it can provide a framework for effective local level democracy and robust local
governance.
Dr. Osei Wusu described the structure of the new Local Government System arrangements, functions of
the District Assembly and the key functionaries and actors in the Local Government environment, as well
as the sources of revenue for local government institutions. He said the policy priorities and themes for
accelerating decentralization and the way forward include political decentralization and legal issues,
administrative decentralization, decentralized development planning, spatial planning, environmental
management and natural resource management, local economic development, fiscal decentralization,
popular participation and accountability, social agenda, involvement of non-state actors in local
governance and harmonization of development partner interventions.
WASH Sector and Decentralization
Dr. Osei Wusu underscored the importance of water and sanitation in human development including food
security, nutrition, energy production, poverty reduction, health and economic growth, as well as the
achievement of all other MDGs. He also described the institutional arrangements at the national level
including the roles of the main sector, ministries and agencies. He went on to describe the roles of
MMDAs, sub-district institutions, traditional authorities, opinion leaders and communities.
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15. Challenges and Lessons
Dr. Osei Wusu enumerated a number of challenges and lessons associated with decentralization and
WASH service delivery. This included the following:
· Sustainability of WASH facilities due to several factors including funding. He also cited lack of political will
to maintain facilities and said efforts are made mostly after facilities have already broken down.
· Capacity gaps of District Water and Sanitation Teams, Water and Sanitation Development Boards (WSB)
and Water and Sanitation Committees. He said any time CWSA funding phased out, these sub-district
WASH institutions face funding and other capacity challenges.
· Absence of career oriented courses with training institutions is also a shortcoming especially for
members of sub-district WASH-related institutions )they are usually given a few days training on the job by
service providers)
· Difficulty by users (especially of small town water systems) to pay user fees. This is a key source of
revenue to sustain the systems so when users are unable to pay, raising funds to maintain the systems
becomes difficult.
· Since there is poor record keeping practice in most sub-district WASH institutions, accountability is a
major issue.
· Selection of members to constitute a WSB or WATSAN Committee is a major challenge especially since
it is difficult to measure their commitment levels and even the issue of illiteracy in most rural communities.
· Other challenges include land acquisition, delays in payment of water bills, illegal connections,
urbanization and climate change.
Suggestions
Dr. Osei Wusu made a couple of suggestions for consideration as Mole XXII sought to find answers to
some of these challenges. He said MMDAs need to have in place dedicated budgets for WASH services
delivery. This, according to him, will support communities when they are unable to raise enough funds to
maintain facilities. He also called for continuous training to develop capacities of WASH-related
institutions at the decentralized level.
Keynote Address and Launch of Mole Conference Website – Director of Water
The keynote address was delivered by the Director of Water at the Ministry of Water Resources, Works
and Housing. In the brief address, he recounted the various reforms in the WASH Sector especially since
1994 when the NCWSP has been implemented. He identified a number of challenges including
inadequate capacity at the local level to implement programmes. He asked for thorough discussions on
the issue of capacity at the decentralized levels during the conference since, according to him, the Mole
Conference provided a potential platform to address such issues.
The Director used the occasion to launch a new website for the Mole Conference Series –
www.moleconference.org. The website would carry more information about the Mole Conference Series,
Conference communiqués and reports, as well as live coverage of conference proceedings, pictures and
other useful literature.
WASH Sector Overview - by Emmanuel Addai (WSMP)
Mr. Addai's presentation on WASH Sector Overview covered access to water, basic sanitation and
hygiene. The presentation also contained highlights on major policy issues, sector coordination, sector
monitoring and evaluation, research and knowledge management and major sector events.
On access to water, Mr. Addai said latest data available for 2010 from the agencies indicated 62% for rural
and 63.9% for urban water supply, both having risen from approximately 59% in 2009. He however said
that for MDG reporting purposes, according to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, Ghana
had achieved 82% national coverage as at 2008, 90% urban and 74% rural, thus putting the country on-
track to achieving her MDG target of 78%. On sanitation and, Mr. Addai said there were still no clear
indicators but said the on-going work on the sector M&E Plan is expected to resolve that issue. For MDG
reporting, he said data from the JMP indicated 12.4% national coverage, meaning the country was still
wide off-track to achieving her target of 54% by 2015.
On major policy updates, he said the Management Contract with AVRL had ended and the government did
not extend it. Instead, the government planned on creating a new company, the Ghana Urban Water
Limited, to play an interim role in managing the affairs of urban water supply. On sanitation, he said the
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16. 1999 National Sanitation Policy had been reviewed and launched in December 2010, while the Ministry of
Local Government and Rural Development had adopted the CLTS approach as a rural sanitation model to
eradicate open defecation and trigger demand for latrines.
On sector coordination, Mr. Addai said the Water Directorate is being restructured to be properly
mainstreamed in the Ministry, and a new Director had been recruited to replace the retired Director. He
also said the Bi-monthly Sector Working Group Meetings had always been held to deliberate on
coordination issues, including deliberations on the progress towards the Sector Wide Approach, for which
a code of conduct had been signed between the GoG and DPs, and a series of SWAp-related workshops
that had been organized.
On Sector M&E, he said a number of steps had been taken; these include the preparation of the Sector
Strategic Development Plan out of which the M&E plan and framework will be developed, a set of
indicators had been selected for further stakeholder discussions to feed into the M&E Plan, and the
production of a Sector Performance Report, which started in 2010 for 2009. He however called on
NGOs/CSOs to document and provide information on their contribution to facility delivery, sector financing
and advocacy.
Mr. Addai said on sector knowledge management, there was a monthly National Level Learning Alliances
meetings that had provided a useful platform for learning and sharing on thematic issues, while a couple of
new learning oriented projects had also been created, including CREPA and WASHTech.
Discussions on Sector Overview
Mr John Ndjilo of Global Water Initiative wanted to know the reasons for disparities in coverage data in the
presentation and which type of data would be suitable for planning. Mr. Yaw Asante Sarkodie of the WSMP
responded that the disparities were as a result of differences in methodologies applied in computing them.
He explained that two sources of data are used in data generation - provider-based data coming from
service utilities, also called administrative data. This means as a country, standards have been agreed on
which are used by provider agencies.
The second is User based data. There is no data called JMP data as it comes from the Ghana Statistical
Service (GSS) which carries out routine surveys including census to collect data on WASH from the
perspective of users. The variances are coming from the description or definitions given to the various
indicators.
The sector, according to Mr. Sarkodie, is thinking of working hard to close that gap. One option is to come
up with WASH sector specific surveys. The Ghana Statistical Service is in a good position to do that. The
second is to work on common definitions.
In terms of national planning, because agencies have specific roles and standards, it is recommended that
data from sector agencies be used. For MDGs, the JMP has been mandated to track progress and they
have common parameters which they use. Mr Emmanuel Addai of the WSMP added that when the SSDP
is finalized, a sectorwide M&E plan will be developed and it will work towards harmonizing the M&E
indicators.
Guinea Worm Eradication in Ghana: Jim Niquette (W.A.T.E.R.)
Mr. Jim Niquette reported that there had been zero cases of guinea worm in Ghana since May 2011. He
said it took Ghana three and half years to reduce the cases from more than 3,000 to zero and, according to
him, it was a record performance. He attributed the success to active and effective collaboration from
everybody in the fight.
Discussion
Mr. Charles Yeboah of Safe Water Network wanted to know what would happen to post eradication
surveillance and how civil society was being courted to fill in the gap that will arise. In response Mr. Jim said
the process was to break transmission, which happens 14months after last recorded case followed by
three years with no cases. He said a certification process driven by Ghana Health Service and WHO would
be carried out. Ghana Health Service would use the Disease Surveillance Unit to carry out post
eradication surveillance.
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17. SUMMARY OF PAPER PRESENTATIONS
Governance, Accountability and Aid/Development Effectiveness in the WASH Sector
These sessions provided more understanding for the terms governance, accountability and aid
effectiveness. Some of the presentations also highlighted Ghana's progress in ensuring that aid is
effective, accountability is built into practices and sustainability is paramount. A couple of gaps that still
exist in these efforts were highlighted and a number of suggestions offered. One presentation also
emphasized development effectiveness as the ultimate goal of aid effectiveness.
Aid Effectiveness in Drinking Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene – Yaw Sarkodie (WSMP)
Mr. Sarkodie's presentation covered various contributions by GoG and other donors to the WASH Sector,
coverage trends, pillars of Aid Effectiveness, governance and transparency issues. He ended by
highlighting a couple of challenges and made some suggestions for improvement.
He drew attention to the fact that compared with the Education and Health Sectors, the WASH sector was
the least prioritized in terms of funding and said allocations to the sector had been just around 2.5% of total
annual budget. He said contributions from most donor partners have been by way of project delivery, inter-
governmental transfers, multi-donor budget support and support for decentralization through local
government structures. Main donor partners, according to the presenter, included AfD, AfDB, CIDA,
DANIDA, DfID, EU, Dutch Government, KFW, World Bank and UNICEF. The NGO partners included
WaterAid, Plan International, World Vision and several FBOs and CBOs, providing mainly off-budget
support.
Mr. Sarkodie said donor grants and concessionary funding has been the main driver for rural water supply
and sanitation, while urban water supply represents a mix of commercial credits and grant elements.
According to him, the sector has been largely funded through donor funds especially the rural water and
sanitation sub-sector. He said while various drivers for water supply are in place and has put the country on
the path to achieving her MDG target, there are several barriers to sanitation improvement.
According to Mr. Sarkodie, barriers holding back sector progress include inadequate investment, poor
targeting and ineffective investments, inadequate donor alignment and harmonization, lack of capacity to
plan, design, implement and monitor, poorly coordinated sector framework, lack of accountability and
weak monitoring and evaluation. He said Ghana's assessment indicates positive responses in all the five
main pillars of Aid Effectiveness – ownership, alignment, harmonization, managing for results, and mutual
accountability - however, there still remain a lot of challenges that must be removed in order to make aid
more effective; these include: delays in finalizing the multi-donor budget support, the Sector Strategic
Development Plan to which a sector M&E framework will be aligned, government budget for WASH still
being a line item instead of being programmatic, and sector plans not linked to performance monitoring
system. He also said capacity limitations and absorptive capacities of public sector institutions and
MMDAs are also challenging.
Mr. Sarkodie suggested that there is need for more political will to prioritize WASH and development of
prudent financial management systems, and continue to forge more and effective partnerships such the
SWA.
Governance, Accountability and Aid Effectiveness: Towards sustainable rural water services –
Vida Duti (Triple-S)
The presentation defined the terms governance, accountability and aid effectiveness and explored how
they contribute to sustainability of water services. She said the belief by some donors and NGOs that large
amounts of aid directly invested in projects will result in positive outcomes has not been right as years of
experience have shown that projects on their own do not result in sustainability of services. She said
exclusive focus on projects do undermine country ownership and capacity building of country structures
and systems. She said this results in a vicious cycle of failures seen in weak policies, poor coordination,
poor planning, weak institutions, poor accountability and unsustainable services, when donors try to
respond to this state of affairs through project aid, focus on infrastructure rather than services, non
alignment to sector policies. She said where there is no aid effectiveness, there is no focus on enabling
sector environment and no attention to sector policies, no coordination and no alignment and this puts the
sector back to the same poor state. She said a more effective approach acknowledges the importance of
working with and through government structures.
Ms Duti provided suggestions for maximizing aid effectiveness; these include clear nationally-led
strategies for service delivery, agreement and implementation of commonly accepted approaches and
country-specific service delivery models, and clarity for consumers and service providers about service
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18. delivery models. She went on to outline the building blocks for a sustainable sector, including effective
policies and strategies, effective sector coordination, effective institutional arrangements, adequate sector
financings and performance monitoring. Others include effective planning, awareness and skills, culture of
learning and information sharing, harmonization and alignment. She said putting these into practice
requires context specific building blocks.
Ms Duti said analyses show that what is required to ensure sustainability is already in place but there are a
number of missing pieces that require attention. These, she said, include: gaps between policy and
practice, weak harmonization, weak service authority capacity, emphasis on construction instead of
services, and lack of regulatory framework among others. She provided evidence of ongoing efforts to fill
the gaps and provided some steps to address the missing pieces, including sector harmonization
framework such as the SWAp and SSDP, national guidelines and agreed strategic approaches,
sustainability and functionality indicators, ongoing dialogue on sector financing, legislation and piloting of
the District Ownership and Management concept.
Findings from a Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) Research on Governance in the WASH Sector –
Vitus Azeem (GII)
Mr. Azeem said the research by GII focused on water because it is a basic necessity which, when priced at
economic rates, the poor turn to low quality sources with a lot of health implications. He said the water
sector is also a national policy focus as the GPRS and the other strategic development frameworks
highlight water. He said the research aimed at identifying risks related to lack of transparency and integrity
and their potential negative impacts on water supply performance.
Findings from the research, according to Mr. Azeem, indicated that measures for ensuring transparency in
the WASH sector are established, including regular reporting systems, regular meetings, regular auditing
of accounts, publication and documentation of tendering processes. However, according to him,
compliance is weak, giving way for issues of lack of accountability and integrity. He said though
accountability efforts have been upwards through routine submission of periodic and completion, as well s
financial reports as required by law, processes for ensuring downward accountability is very low. He said
user participation in decision-making is not adequate as most meetings are held without users. On what he
referred to as grand corruption, he provided examples such as:
· Single contractor buying and pricing all bidding documents;
· Award of a number of contracts to the same contractor under different names;
· Procuring entities making payment before due dates;
· Advancing funds for mobilization beyond the 15% allowable limit;
· Over invoicing and shoddy work
Mr. Azeem also cited illegal connections, meter tampering, direct payment to meter readers, under
reporting of daily sales etc as examples of what he calls petty corruption.
The research recommended the need to strengthen anti corruption tools and the capacity of sector
agencies to implement those tools. Donors too are requested to introduce anti corruption clauses in all
cooperation agreements also adhere to the highest standards of disclosure and consultation for all water
projects they support. The report also recommended creation of awareness and systems within public
organisations so that they can cooperate effectively with civil society to prevent corruption. The report
again suggested the institutionalization of involvement of civil society at each of the levels of public
procurement, public access to information on operations of public utility providers should be increased.
Governance, Accountability and Development Effectiveness – Zan Akologo (National Catholic
Secretariat)
Mr. Akologo began his presentation with a couple of quotes including one from the former UN Secretary
general, Kofi Annan, “Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty
and promoting development.” He defined governance as being about processes, as requiring more than a
focus on government, as being the nature of relations between state and society, and as being about space
for interaction for decision making between state and economic and societal actors.
Mr. Akologo identified six main principles of governance: participation, fairness, decency, accountability,
transparency and efficiency.The presentation tried to draw a dichotomy between Aid Effectiveness and
Development Effectiveness: While Aid Effectiveness relates to measures that improve the quality of the aid
relationship, primarily focusing on the terms and conditions of the resource transfer, Development
Effectiveness promotes sustainable change within a framework that addresses the causes and the
symptoms of poverty, inequality and marginalization through the diversity and complementarities of
instruments, policies and actors. Development effectiveness, in relation to aid, according to Mr. Akologo, is
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19. understood as policies and practices by development actors that deepen the impact of aid and
development cooperation on the capacities of poor and marginalized people to realize their rights.
Mr. Akologo's presentation also stated that an evaluation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness
indicated some donors have demonstrated less commitment than partner countries to making the
changes needed in their own systems. He said participation and ownership in the international aid
improvement campaign needs to be widened as soon as possible to engage more actors and styles of
cooperation. He said Ghana had made moderate progress in terms of ownership but harmonization in
some areas remained slow.
He concluded that the task of improving governance in the WASH Sector is linked to improvement in
governance processes at the national level. He said the onus is on local stakeholders: government,
economic and societal actors. He ended by drawing attention to the need for our own effective
organisation, accountability and capacity development to become an indispensable interlocutor in this
cause.
Discussions on Governance, Accountability and Aid/Development Effectiveness in the WASH
Sector
In reaction to whether loans should be separated from grants to ascertain the exact government
contribution to sector funding, Mr. Oduro Donkor of ProNet said he was of the view that in whatever form,
the question of revenue mobilization from internal sources should be our preoccupation since that would
provide the solution to sustainable sector funding. He said grants and loans may not guarantee financial
sustainability in the future.
With comparatively low budget allocations to the WASH sector, Mr. Samuel Sackitey wanted to know
whether it was not due to lack of government commitment to the sector given her persistent failure to
increase allocations to WASH. Other participants were of the view that the Education and Health Sectors
have many more staff to cater for as against very few government workers in the WASH sector. But Mr. Ben
Arthur of CONIWAS thought that even if the staff in WASH were few, allocations could still go into
investments to accelerate WASH sector growth since the lack of water, sanitation and hygiene would
make all investments in education and health wasteful.
In reaction to a GII reference to the non-adherence to the 15% advance payment for contractors in the
procurement law, Mr. Phillip Amanor of CWSA said it was better for that part of the law to be reviewed since
most private sector operators cannot deliver enough, but Mr. Vitus Azeem said that clause is to prevent
heavy losses should some contractors run away so there is at least a positive side to that law too.
On sector funding, Mr. Othniel Habila of UNICEF Ghana suggested that a small team should be formed to
follow pursue funding issues with the appropriate ministries (especially the Ministry of Finance and
Economic Planning). Current, there is no one to follow up at the top with all the calls for increased sector
funding. It was suggested that Jim of the Carter Centre lead in forming the team.
Mr. Charles Nachinab of New Energy wanted to know from whose perspective are we determining if aid is
effective. Who determines the criteria for aid effectiveness? Is there any specific aid case which can be
used to cite reasons for aid ineffectiveness? The response was that it was the perspective of all involved.
The underlying factor is that all have agreed on common goals and results in WASH, its delivery of services
to the un-served. We all need to work on making sure our contributions are used effectively be it technical
or financial.
A major question emerged during a Panel Discussion on Aid Effectiveness, Good governance and
Accountability: “How do governance, accountability and aid effectiveness contribute to sustainability?”
Throwing more light on the question, Ms. Vida Duti of Triple-S indicated that some donors believe that
large amounts of aid directly invested in projects will result in positive outcomes, but, according to her,
projects do not, on their own, contribute to sustainability. She said Ghana had about 70% of what it takes to
ensure aid effectiveness and how that will lead to sustainability. What remains, according to her, is the will
to implement them.
Mr. Patrick Moriarty of IRC said NGOs have roles to play in aid effectiveness and the Sector Wide
Approach. He identified communication and documentation as some of the key roles that NGOs can play.
He said aid effectiveness and SWAp should not be seen as government business a responsibility for all.
Br. Ben Arthur of CONIWAS also said NGOs need to look back at their models and align them with what will
lead to sustainability and aid effectiveness. He said DAs should also be bold to take NGOs on and bring
them in line with District plans.
Mr. Evans Atiim of the East Gonja District Assembly (DWST) reiterated that fact that some NGOs do not
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20. collaborate with DAs and usually bypass them in their dealings and he believed that some donors are
behind those actions.
Mr. Othniel Habila of UNICEF Ghana said that though it is every one's responsibility, the government
should be seen as playing a leadership role and show clear ownership in ensuring aid effectiveness and
sustainability. He also advised donors to align with government programmes and 'work themselves out of
business.'
Mr. Thomas Sayibu Imoro of NewEnergy said that long term support to communities for maintenance must
be provided. He said DPs would be needed to support such a programme. He advised that SWAp will in
fact narrow the space of NGOs; they therefore need to re-package their skills.
Dealing with Long Term Financing for WASH
This section discussed WASH Sector financing gaps and explored long term financing options for the
Sector. There were also presentations on lessons and experiences on various small town water supply
management models and how effective models could impact on financing small town systems.
Findings from GrassRootsAfrica's Budget Tracking (2010) by Hawa Nibi Amenga Etego –
GrassRootsAfrica
The paper was presented by Mr. Ben Arthur of CONIWAS on behalf of Mrs hawa Nibi Amenga Etego. The
purpose of the budget tracking, according to Mrs Amenga Etego, was to among others, ascertain the
overall budget allocation to the WASH sector and make a comparison of the WASH sector allocations
against those of the Ministries of Education and Health, as well as actual releases against allocations.
Findings, according to Mrs Amenga Etego, indicated a reduction in GoG funding particularly for
investments to the Ministry of Water resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH), while the overall GoG
contribution was just about 13% as against 78% from donors. Whereas GoG allocation was 26% and 11%
to the Ministry of Education (MoE) and Ministry of Health (MoH) respectively, allocation to the MWRWH
and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) were 2.7% and 3.5%
respectively.
MWRWH received over 100% (155%) for personal emolument (PE), over 100% (108%) for administration,
48% for service and more than double the allocation for investment (207%). CWSA received 57% for P.E,
100% for administration, 50% for services and 8.3% for investment. GWCL received more than 100% of
the allocated budget for investment and service allocation. WRC received more than 100% for P.E, 90% for
administration, 24.9% for service and 21% for investment. EHSD received 51% for P.E, over 307% for
Admin, 46% for service and 85% for investment.
The research identified issues with disbursement as the Ministry of Finance blamed the non-release of
funds on the low absorptive capacity of the agencies, a blame which the agencies also refuse to take. The
presentation made suggestions for alternative sector financing including:
· Special levy on high water users such as breweries, mining companies solely for water infrastructure
· The 20% tax on packaged water should be used exclusively for the expansion of piped water
infrastructure.
· The collection of property tax should be improved and used to support the water and sanitation sector.
· One percent tax should be imposed on piped water to be re-invested in water and sanitation.
Long Term Financing of Small Towns Water Systems – Alex Obuobisa Darko (WASHCost)
Mr. Darko stated in his presentation that current project approaches are not sustainable as systems
function and sag in a short time. What is needed, he said, is a Service Delivery Approach, where systems
are constantly upgraded and made functional.
He said there life cycle costs to service delivery, including capital Expenditure, Operational and Minor
Maintenance Expenditure, Capital Maintenance Expenditure, Expenditure on Direct Support, Expenditure
on Indirect Support and Cost of Capital.
Mr. Darko said there should be budgets for these life cycle costs to ensure sustainability. He said if we fail to
invest in maintenance and allow systems to break down, the rehabilitation costs are sometimes not
different from the original installation cost. He said capital expenditure is one of the critical elements of
sustainability He also called for direct support to MMDAs for capital maintenance to ensure sustainability.
Small Town Water Supply Management Models
Management of water facilities in small towns are a bit more complicated than rural facilities. A number of
management models are being applied in different parts of the country, most of them dictated by the
context, the type and size of the technology, the size of the community etc. In this session, two different
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21. presentations were made to share experiences documented from some existing management models in
Ghana and elsewhere.
Small Town Water Supply Management Models in Ghana – Benedict Tuffuor (TREND)
Mr Tuffuor's presentation was based on case studies undertaken on a number of water systems in Ghana.
They include the Bekwai, Atebubu, Wassa Akropong, Tumu, Abokobi and Pantang, Asesewa and
Asiakwa, Savalugu and the 3 Districts Water Supply System. He defined a small town as follows: “'Small
towns are settlements that are sufficiently large and dense to benefit from the economies of scale offered
by piped systems, but too small and dispersed to be efficiently managed by a conventional urban water
utility. They require formal management arrangements, a legal basis for ownership and management, and
the ability to expand to meet the growing demand for water. Small towns usually have populations between
5,000 and 50,000, but can be larger or smaller.”
The study identified, at the global level, six different management models: Community management,
water board management, municipal management, private management and utility management.
In Ghana, the study identified the following as the prevailing models: Direct Water and Sanitation
Development Board (WSDB) management with Water and Sanitation (Watsan) Committee, direct WSDB
management without Watsan, WSDB management with delegated operations (Public-Private
Partnership), WSDB management with delegated operations in the Three District Water Supply Scheme
and direct WSDB management with bulk supply.
Mr. Tuffuor said challenges associated with these models include: Low levels of revenue generated for
Operation and Maintenance, capital maintenance and system rehabilitation; Lack of sustained technical
support to WSDBs, general lack of sustainable management capacity at the local level, lack of visibility of
NGO's in ensuring social accountability, inadequate DA capacity/commitment for Post-construction
activities, poor adherence to accountability and conflicts between WSDB and DAs/DCEs. He identified
three key success factors for any management model; these are (1) technical viability of the water
infrastructure, (2) financial viability including tariff systems, financial management systems and
investment, and (3) institutional arrangements: contracts, clear roles and responsibilities, commitment
and capacity of stakeholders.
Mr. Tuffuor ended his presentation with a couple of questions for discussion:
1. Given the DAs' central role in decentralised service delivery, and their generally challenged capacity and
orientation (project approach), how do we achieve sustainable service delivery?
2. What gap can the NGOs fill to ensure efficient post-construction management for sustainable service
delivery?
3. How do we ensure sustained civil society (WSDBs, Watsans) capacity for sustainable service delivery?
4. How do you deal with sustainable tariffs, pro-poor services, sustainable services, weak DA financing?
The NORST Project management Models for Small Town Water Systems: by Alex Opare Akunor
(NORST/CIDA)
Mr. Alex Opare Akunor said the NORST Project was also testing new small town management models in
13 districts in the Northern Region with small town water systems. He said the model brings more
stakeholders on board the management of small town systems, while care is taken not to throw away the
CWSA approaches. He said CIDA, who provides funding, transfers the money to the Bank of Ghana, then
through the Treasury, before the funds are transferred to the DAs based on a sound plan and
arrangements. He said there are periodic audits of the DAs on how the funds are being utilized. He said
some of the challenges identified with the model include the slow pace of progress due to the working
procedures. He also said there challenges with coordination. A major lesson, he said was that DAs have
the ability to manage systems; they only need orientation and the right equipment
Discussions on Small Town Management Models
Participants generally agreed with the fact that lack of support costs hampers sustainability. There were
also suggestions that a lot of work needed to be done on character building, while there was a strong call
for a WASH share in revenues from the oil find.
Mr. Othniel Habila highlighted the fact that the sanitation side of WSDBs is weak and most discussions
about the boards are usually on water. He also wanted to know how CWSA was positioning itself to
coordinate all the rural and small town projects.
In response Mr. Tuffuor said it was true that WSDBs talk more about water. However, they had budgets for
sanitation too. Mr.Alex..., however, said the NORST Project had a sanitation component, which included
environmental sanitation and CLTS.
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22. When Mr. Phillip Amanor of CWSA suggested that it was better to select the best model to scale up, Mr.
Tuffuor said effectiveness of models depended largely on the context and thus it was difficult to select a
best model. He said the problem was not with the type of model but how the rules are adhered to and each
partner playing the assigned role.
Mr. Charles Nachinab of CWSA suggested that as we demand so much efficiency from the WSDBs, we
should ensure that they are given adequate training. He said the norm has been that they are usually give
about three days training for a job so demanding as managing a water facility for thousands of people.
On effectiveness of Water Boards and their accountability issues, Mr. Vitus Azeem of GII said there is the
need for more sharing of information and closer collaboration to avoid duplication of efforts and possible
conflicts. In view of lack of or inadequate transparency and accountability as well as the possible
politicization of the Water Board, he said it is important to emphasize the need for independent and neutral
monitoring teams.
Natural Resource (Oil, Gas, Mining) Exploration and Implications on WASH
This session reviewed the effects of the exploration of oil, gas and other natural resources on water
resources. Some of the presentations called for reviews of laws, a share of revenue from mining and oil for
WASH, better environmental and health impact assessments and more specifically support for the most
affected MMDAs in the Western Region to contain the increasing pressure on the WASH facilities as a
result of the oil find.
Effects of Oil and Gas on the WASH Sector – Steve Manteaw
Dr. Steve Manteaw started his presentation describing the relations between water and oil as symbiotic;
water is a key factor in oil extraction, while oil is a key factor in water production. It is therefore rational,
according to Dr. Manteaw, not to overlook water in the discussions around oil and gas. He said most oil-rich
developing countries are poorly ranked using the World Bank's composite governance indicators and the
Transparency International's annual ranking of states by perceptions of corruption. He said impacts of oil
on the environment are unavoidable but the challenge is how best to mitigate and manage them. He said
guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) are not fully complied with and this leads to the
design of inadequate mitigating measures. Dr. Manteaw said even though activities on oil exploration are
mainly offshore, it is important to recognize that facilities and installations that will service the production
platform are located onshore.
Dr. Manteaw said oil exploration will attract many people to the Western Region and this will inevitably put
pressure on WASH services and facilities and all other amenities. He said discussions around the
management and use of oil and gas revenue therefore could not be oblivious of the need to provide
resources for containing these pressures.
In conclusion, he said the over-riding concern in all the discussions in respect of petroleum sector has
been how to spread the benefits. Meanwhile the biggest challenge confronting water, hygiene and
sanitation services delivery in Ghana is that of finance – infrastructure, personnel, and logistics. The focus
of any campaign for universal access to WASH services, according to him, should therefore be primed on
leveraging petroleum revenues to bolster the WASH sector.
Petroleum Exploitation in Ghana: Water and Sanitation Implications – Bishop Akolgo (Presented
by Maame Yaa Bosomtwe)
Bishop Akolgo spoke on the petroleum sector and its environmental challenges and the need for regional
impact assessment. He said the petroleum industry presents opportunities in generating revenues for
funding public services and local business participation in procurement of goods and services, while the
credit worthiness of the country is boosted to enable the country borrow on the back of oil. For investments
in the Western Region, He said areas such as support for education, support for water points, payment of
property rates and royalties (if onshore), demand for food etc are all opportunities that can arise from the oil
exploration. He however identified a number of threats associated with the industry: these include
pollution, low capacity to monitor companies, increasing human traffic, low capacity by MMDAs to provide
adequate public services including WASH, and security. He called for integrated management planning
including application of land-use planning principles to planning of offshore areas and management of the
whole ecosystem in areas and not individual species.
By way of recommendation, he said the integrated management planning should ensure WASH is part of
the four priority areas for petroleum revenue investment. He asked for the empowerment of the Regional
Coordinating Councils (RCC) and MMDAs in the region to monitor environmental impact as well as
economic impacts. He also asked for the empowerment of the RCCs and MMDAs to respond to increasing
pressure on services, while encouraging MMDAs to take long-term view of development and how to build
and sustain viable local economies using petroleum activities as catalyst.
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23. Implications of Mining on Water Resources in the Western Region – Mawuli Lumor (WRC)
Mr. Lumor's presentation highlighted climate change and rapid population growth as two of the major
impacts on water. He said an Assessment on Water Resources by the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) revealed an increase in temperatures of about 10C over a 30 year period, and reductions in rainfall
and runoff in the historical data sets. The climate change scenarios, according to him, also showed a
reduction in groundwater recharge at a rate of nearly 20% during the same period. On population growth,
he said though the national growth rate between 1984 and 2000 was 2.7% while the Western Region grew
by 3.2%, with the ore bearing areas (Wassa West) alone growing by 10%.
As the mining activities degrade water bodies and forests (which indirectly also affect water resources and
the climate), rapid population growth adds to the challenges as it brings more pressure on the same
resources.
Mr. Lumor said impacts of Large Scale Mining (LSM) on water resources include: acid mine drainage,
release of metals, cyanide, siltation, tailing dam and impoundment leaks, seepage and breaches, arsenic
contamination. He said these impacts depend on the type of rock and ore being mined, the type of mining
operation and the scale of operations, as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of environmental
management systems among others.
On impacts of Small Scale Mining (SSM), Mr. Lumor said it leads to increased exposure of rural
communities to mercury, dust and vulnerability to the effects of noise. Other impacts of SSM, he said,
include: Direct discharge of tailings and effluents into rivers and streams, mercury pollution, deforestation,
landscape destruction, among several others.
Mr. Lumor suggested a number of measures that can be applied to reduce the impacts; they include
enforceable regulations, site-specific management and regulatory framework, abstraction charges for pit
dewatering, and regularization of the activities of SSMs. He concluded that there should be strong
collaboration among the regulatory agencies and simplification of the licensing procedures for SSMs, as
well as adequate financing for capacity building in IWRM at the lowest levels. He also called for speedy
adoption of the Buffer Zone Policy to protect water bodies.
Implications of Gold Mining in the WASH Sector: A Case Study of Arsenic Pollution in Tarkwa
Nsuaem Municipality and Prestea Huni Valley District – Samuel Obiri (CEIA)
Mr. Samuel Obiri's presentation identified a number of issues with the Minerals and Mining Law, including
water right, public access to information, royalties, debt recovery, stability agreement, development
agreement, general penalty, and access to court among a couple others. He identified many gaps in the
existing law, which according to him, needed a review. These gaps include the following:
· No clear protection of forest reserves, cultural and significant sites and installations in the country;
· The law is silent on cyanide spillages and chemical pollution of water bodies:
·The distance between a settlement or town and an active pit has to be defined legally to avoid
many conflicts. EPA is yet to develop standards on blasting;
· Inadequate protection of community properties in the event of mining operations
Mr. Obiri said there was widespread perception of the communities in the Obuasi and Tarkwa areas that
their water resources had been polluted through mining, while the drinking water sources they had been
provided were also polluted. He said these perceptions had been confirmed by report issued by CHRAJ in
2008 that most of the water-borne diseases they suffer are as a result of the bad quality of water supplied to
them after their sources of drinking water have been destroyed.
Mr Obiri recommended that there should be a composite law that would define legal requirements for
decommissioning of mines, restoration of land etc. He also recommended that there should be disclosure
of information especially on mining effects of communities and the environment. He said the law must be
clear on preservation and protection of lands especially agricultural lands, while there is need to
incorporate the “Polluter Pays Principle” in the legal framework. He also advocated for what he termed
“Free Prior and Informed Consent” by communities for mining and said it should be incorporated in the law.
Mr. Obiri also called for similar studies in other parts of the country. He also asked for more Health Impact
Assessments before mining licenses are granted. The EPA, WRC, CHRAJ and the Minerals Commission,
according to him, should educate mining communities on the contents of various EIA documents before
public hearing on EIA documents submitted by mining companies.
Discussions on Natural Resource (oil, gas, mining) Exploration and Implications on WASH
The main outcome of the discussions following the presentations on oil, gas and mining was that WASH
should be counted among the top four priorities for the disbursement of oil revenue.
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24. Scaling up Sanitation and Hygiene
This session was dedicated mainly to CLTS presentations and lengthy discussions on the approach. The
session was made up of three main presentations: one from the policy perspective, one from an urban
experience and the other from a rural experience. Most of the time was, however, devoted to plenary
discussions, with concrete decisions taken in the end as a way forward. In the end, the government,
NGOs, private sector and the media accepted to pursue some specialized roles to support the scale up of
CLTS.
Working towards a Sustainable CLTS in Ghana – Kweku Quansah (MLGRD)
Mr. Kweku Quansah's presentation focused on why scale up CLTS and the scaling up strategies. He said
a recent assessment indicated that CLTS has the potential to create the momentum needed to accelerate
and sustain access to improved sanitation in Ghana. He said the effectiveness of CLTS is well appreciated
by many actors at all levels in Ghana. The CLTS, he said, has thus been adopted in the Environmental
Sanitation Policy (ESP) and the NESSAP as the strategy for delivering sanitation in small towns and rural
communities of populations 7500 and below.
On the reason for scaling up CLTS, he said of all the MDG targets, sanitation is the most off-track (13%
with only four years to reach 54%). Being more specific on economic impacts, he said poor sanitation
costs Ghana about $290 million per year, while about 4.8 million people practice open defecation. Open
defecation, according to him, costs Ghana about $79 million per year. With these and several other
negative effects of poor sanitation and especially open defecation, Ghana had adopted the CLTS
approach as a proven strategy with the potential accelerate access.
The Scaling up strategy, according to Mr. Quansah, is hinged on the findings, recommendations and
conclusions of the 2009 CLTS Assessment. They include generating national consensus on CLTS,
strengthening national co-ordination of CLTS, developing National CLTS strategy, action plan and
guidelines (including WASH in Schools), rolling out training of resource persons (critical mass) at national,
regional, and district levels, advocating and communicating the CLTS approach at national, regional and
district levels. The strategy will also incorporate CLTS into the DESSAPs with plans and budgets and
incorporate CLTS into the curriculum for schools of hygiene. Key CLTS monitoring indicators (training,
facilitation, behavioural changes, and ODF status) will be developed and research into suitable low-cost
technology options for the various unique conditions will be undertaken, he said.
Innovative Approaches to Implementing CLTS in an Urban Setting – Nii Wellington (TREND Group)
Mr. Nii Wellington, in his presentation, indicated that though the national evaluation of CLTS
recommended the approach for rural communities because of their homogenous, small, easily mobilized
and governable characteristics, it failed to make similar recommendations for urban areas since their
characteristics are different and generally complex. He said, the approach may be practicable in urban
areas when standard facilitation processes and implementation tools are modified to suit the urban
environment.
Mr. Wellington presented lessons from a pilot CLTS attempt in Lekpongunor, a small town in the Dangme
West District, whose population was about 5000, highly littered with very high open defecation rates.
Some of the innovative strategies adopted, he said, was to divide the community into smaller segments
and deal with each separately. He said the group developed a seven-step approach to project
implementation:
1. Sectional Triggering with Town Group leaders as well as opinion leaders. 15 sessions were held in a 3
week period
2. Triggered leaders commenced defecation area walks with facilitators in all the sessions. These walks
were captured on video and also on still photographs (1 month)
3. Town Triggering: Audio-visual productions were shown to Town members in the various
neighbourhoods at nights, normally attracting large crowds
4. Special sessions were conducted with the 3 schools. They reviewed existing School Sanitation and
Hygiene Education plans. Formed and Triggered School Hygiene Clubs using the standard triggering
process. Hygiene club members became natural leaders and commenced communal clean-ups and
household follow-ups
5. Post-triggering follow-ups (currently on-going) is being conducted on house-to-house basis by
extension staff, school children and other community natural leaders
6. Daily Reminders using the gong-gong at defecation sites (morning and evening)
7. On-going advocacy with the district and CWSA to support the Town in terms of committing resources
and personnel for follow-up - monthly meeting and presentations on existing situation and close
collaboration with CWSA on progress of work.
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