Accra, Nov. 27, GNA 96 About 300 local and international water experts are meeting in Accra to scale-up the need to build capacities of local entrepreneurs in the delivery of rural water for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The forum, which is the fifth Rural Water and Sanitation Network (RWSN), would focus on the provision of cost effective boreholes, sustainable hand-pumps and self-supply of rural water in the rural communities of countries.

Opening the forum Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, stressed the urgent need to increase access to potable water to rural folks that had become a major hurdle for most governments in the world, especially Africa. He said the task of providing potable water and sanitation facilities to rural people remained a daunting as the statistics were very depressing.

Mr Owusu-Agyemang said about 300 million Africans were without access to potable water and about 313 million lacked access to adequate sanitation.

'The picture on country to country basis is even more worrying and this exacts a heavy toll on the health and economic progress of our countries,' he said.

To overcome the challenge, he said it would require mobilizing huge amounts of financial and human resources, adding; 93this is beyond the reach of our countries=94.

He referred to the Africa Regional Report on Water Resources Development, which stated that the Continent would need 20 billion dollars annually to meet the Africa Water Vision 2025. Mr Owusu-Agyemang said the Report agreed that the volume of financial and technical support pledged to Africa so far fell short of what was required.

'This sends a clear signal to Africa and indeed the developing world that our destiny lies in our own hands.

'We need to explore the more, innovative ways of meeting the demands of our people, especially in the provision of potable water if we are not to fail them,' he said.

He said Ghana realizing this, had set a higher target of 85 per cent as compared to the MDGs of 73 per cent coverage, which he said would translate to an annual investment of about 150 million dollars for the urban and rural water sectors.

He said the thematic focus of the forum should be to deliberate on promoting local initiatives and building upon the experiences of local artisans in the supply of vital services.

=93The establishment of the use of simple and less sophisticated drilling equipment could drastically reduce the unit cost of boreholes and increase the coverage at less cost,=94 Mr Owusu-Agyemang noted. Osagyefo Amotia Ofori-Panin, The Okyenhene, who chaired the forum thrilled the participants with an incisive speech on the seriousness and depressing nature of poor rural water supply, which continued to pose great health dangers to million of children worldwide.

He noted that 932.3 million people go to bed everyday without treated water and children are dying because of human actions and inactions.

He said it was an undeniable fact that Africa's poverty situation was caused by Chattel Slavery and Colonialism as well as bad leadership on the Continent.

The Okyehene Ofori-Panin said it was amazing how in the face of advanced technology and with fast pace of global information flow, world leaders sat around while little children died because of lack of potable water.

"Our poverty is without an option, we need to work and make this world a better place.

"We need to preach out sermons with deeds and not mere words," he said.

Mr Piers Cross, Chairperson of the RWSN, said the selection of Ghana to host the Forum was based on its successive role and effort in the provision of potable water for its rural people over the years.

He said with Africa being the Continent most at risk, there was the need to share experiences from other parts of the world so as to make safe water accessible and sustainable for rural folks.

RWSN is a global knowledge network for promoting sound practices in rural water supply.