It is a revised version of the 2007 Water Policy and is expected to guide stakeholders on issues about sustainable financing to bring on board Small Water Enter­prises.

Launching the policy at the Mole 35 Conference, which ended on Friday, a Deputy Director at the Ministry, Kwaku Quansah, said the new policy would help enterprises to support the delivery of water for all Ghanaians.

The five-day conference, held in the Volta Region capital, Ho, was on the theme: ‘Looking back on the implementation of SDG6: progress challenges and way for­ward.”
    

Under the auspices of the Coali­tion of non-governmental organi­sations in the Water and Sanitation Sector (CONIWAS), it was also supported by partners, including MSWR, UNICEF and the Great­er

 Accra Metropolitan Assembly Water and Sanitation Project.

Among the participating organ­isations and institutions, were the IRC Ghana, World Vision Ghana, and Media Coalition Against Open Defecation (M-CODE).

Mr Quansah noted that the 2007 Water Policy was able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, (MDGs) far before the end of the MDG period.

Despite challenges facing the sector, he indicated that the new policy would be implemented to ensure water supply to all, and to address the increasing cost of water in rural areas.

“The critical challenge that we want the new policy to address is the fact that some Ghanaians who live in the rural areas are paying more for water than the urban areas. Since water is always available in public, there is the need to reverse it by increasing access to water for all”, Mr Quansah remarked.

He touched on the illegal mining (galamsey) menace saying the new policy would also seek to help address it.

“One of the critical things the Water Policy is addressing is the galamsey. We cannot continue to allow our water bodies to be pol­luted with heavy metals therefore, we encourage Ghanaians to stop mining in water bodies for poster­ity and the future,” Mr Quansah stated.

The Senior Water and Sanita­tion Specialist at the World Bank, Ghana Office, Harold Esseku, in a presentation, said Ghana sought to improve water quality by reducing pollution, minimise the release of hazardous chemical and materials by 2030.

Ghana, he said, sought to halve the proportion of untreated waste­water and substantially increase recycling and safe reuse.

He pointed out that in the urban areas, Ghana has achieved some improvement in the provision of infrastructure for wastewater treatment.

The Paramount Chief of Afoe­ga, Togbe Tepre Hodo V, chaired the opening ceremony with the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Lydia Seyram Ahassan, and the Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa, gracing the function.