Ghana has achieved 85 per cent urban water coverage which exceeds the projected 76 per cent target by 2015, the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing has said.
The projected achievement, which is a year ahead of schedule, was based on the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) conducted by the United Nations (UN) and the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
Addressing the minstry�s turn of meet-the-press series in Accra yesterday, the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alhaji Collins Dauda, said the current urban water demand is 257 million gallons a day (MGD), while delivery is 156 (MDG), leaving a deficit of 101MGD.
According to him, out of the 101 urban water deficit, the Greater Accra Region represented 63MGD.
Alhaji Dauda attributed the achievement to a number of national intervention measures, including the Kpong water expansion project, which had been completed and was expected to add on 40MGD to the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area.
The project has been completed two years ahead of time.
Other projects, he said , included the Kpong water intake rehabilitation project which is expected to produce 3.3MGD, the Accra -Tema Metropolitan Area Wwater Supply Project, expected to produce 9.2 MGD, while the Teshie-Nungua desalination water project is also expected to add on 13.2 MGD.
All those projects, he said, had been successfully completed and were awaiting inauguration.
Together, the projects will add on 65.7 MGD to the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, exceeding the deficit by 2.7MGD.
Projections
Alhaji Dauda said that in view of the fast growing national population, additional projects had been planned to ensure reliability and sustainability of water supply from 2015 to 2030.
The projects, he said, included the Kpong Water Expansion Project Phase 2, Weija Water Supply expansion and Asutsuare Water Supply Project.
He said the government was also working relentlessly to improve rural water supply coverage through a number of projects, including the Five Towns Water Supply Project, Essakyir water Supply Project, the Nsawam Water Supply Project and the Kwahu Ridge, Konongo and Kumawu water supply projects.
He said, as part of measures to improve rural water supply, the government was also delivering 20,000 boreholes over a five-year period from the Consolidated Fund, which has already begun this year.
Alhaji Dauda said currently 1,115 boreholes, fitted with pumps at a cost of GHc17million had been constructed in various rural areas.
Housing sector
Alhaji Dauda said to ensure the delivery of safe, adequate and decent houses, the sector ministry, in collaboration with its stakeholders, had, developed policies and regulations to facilitate housing delivery.
These, he said, included the draft housing policy currently before the Cabinet for approval, the Ghana Building Code and the Real Estate Agency Bill.
Alhaji Dauda said the government was working hard to provide affordable houses to the middle and below the middle income earners as part of efforts to address the national estimated housing deficit of 1.7 million housing units.
He said the government had introduced various affordable housing projects nationwide which were all progressing steadily at various levels of completion.
The projects include the 4,720 affordable housing project located in five regions comprising the Greater Accra , Ashanti, Northern, Upper West and Upper East.
Others include the Kpong , Borteyman, Koforidua, Tamale and Wa affordable housing projects.
State House
On the conversion of the State House Tower block (Job 600) into permanent office building for parliamentarians, the minister said work was 100 per cent complete and was awaiting furnishing.
Apart from the various projects mentioned above, Alhaji Dauda briefed the media on the activities, progress and reforms made by all agencies under the ministry, including the Tema Development Corporation, (TDC), Rent control, State Housing Company, Department of Rural Housing, Ghana Water Company and the AESL.
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