Sunyani (Brong Ahafo ) 19 July '99

A rural water fund is to be created to mobilise financial resources for the smooth operation of the 110 small water systems in the country whose ownership and management are being transferred to communities in which they are located.

The Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Mr Charles Adjei who announced this, said revenue generated from the two per cent which rural water consumers are levied would be used to set up the fund.

He was commissioning a 400 million cedis Japanese-funded office complex for the Brong Ahafo Regional branch of the company at Sunyani on Friday.

Mr Adjei said, as part of the government's restructuring exercise, it has become necessary for the company to transfer ownership and management of small water systems to local communities to ensure greater efficiency in the water industry.

The creation of the fund, which, he said, would be managed by the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), is one of the steps being taken to ensure that beneficiary communities are in a position to manage the systems efficiently.

The fund would be used to supplement revenue that would be generated from tariffs charged by the communities to undertake repairs, routine maintenance and possible expansion of the systems.