REDUCE TARRIFS ON WATER (PAGE 40)

THE President of the Association of Small Town Water Systems, Mr Hamizah Zakari, has urged the government to reduce the high tariffs on water supply so that the management of the projects can sustain the systems.
Mr Zakari, who is also the Managing Director of the Bimbilla Water System in the Northern Region, made the appeal at the inauguration of the association at Kintampo, in the Kintampo North Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The theme for the ceremony was: “Ensuring the Sustainability of the Small Town Water Supply Systems in Ghana — The Role of the Government and Stakeholders”.
Mr Zakari noted with concern that the major threat to the systems was the high bills from the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
He said if the government did not take a serious look at the problem and address it, the projects could collapse, looking at their income which he described as unrealistic compared to their expenditure.
Mr Zakari stated that about 44 small town water communities across the country had come together to form the association so that their management could co-ordinate activities to improve their performance and address common challenges that they might face them.
He said the registered communities of the systems were from the Ashanti, Western, Brong Ahafo, Northern and Upper East regions.
The president expressed concerns about the reluctance of the municipal and district assemblies to offer the necessary support for water systems in their areas even though they owned the projects.
He, therefore, pleaded with all the stakeholders to play their roles for the sustainability of the projects.
The Kintampo North Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Awudulai Razak, commended members of the association and the managers of the water systems for their hard work.
He urged them to continue with their good work to improve the living conditions of the people in the rural communities.
Mr Awudulai implored them to develop a national policy framework that would enable them to extend the systems to many places to promote the health of the people and enhance the development of the nation.
He paid a glowing tribute to the various foreign donors who were offering support to the projects, stressing that the assemblies would also not relent in their efforts to provide the necessary assistance to sustain the systems.
The Municipal Chief Environmental Health Officer, Mr Mahamudu Mahama, who chaired the function, advised assemblies to pay the needed attention to the provision of sanitation facilities in the communities to improve the health of the people, adding that water and sanitation are life-enhancing.
He emphasised the need for house owners to provide all their households with toilet facilities.