Dr. Sumani Al-Hassan, the Director of water at the Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing (MWRWH), has expressed concern over the issue of sustainability of water services in the country. According to him, sustainability models by themselves are not a panacea but only a guide to make sound choices and predictions.
Dr. Sumani made this statement when he opened the Sustainability model design workshop, organized by the Water and Sanitation for Africa (WSA) currently underway in Accra. The water Director describes the ongoing workshop as a fundamental part of the keys to crack the sustainability puzzle. He advised stakeholders and participants to understand the precise ways and manner in which the model would be applied in the real world and is confident the government of Ghana through his ministry will not hesitate to test and take this model forward in order to move the country up the sustainability ladder. He acknowledged the contribution to sustainability by other projects like the Triple-S and encouraged coordination to prevent duplication. He expressed his appreciation to the Water and Sanitation for Africa (WSA) and the Conrad Hilton foundation for their countless contribution and support to the WASH sector of Ghana.
The executive secretary of WSA, Idrissa Doucoure in his address expressed his sincere gratitude to the government of Ghana through the the Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing(MWRWH), development partners and Ghanaian stakeholders for the interest shown in finding a lasting solution to the issues of sustainability of water services in the country. He stressed on the benefit of the workshop as having a great potential of influencing the whole of Africa. He was particularly happy because the design of the model will help fulfill the vision of WSA of providing “water and sanitation for all and forever in a prosperous Africa”
The country representative of WSA, Mrs. Destina Samani in her presentation on the overview and progress of the project advised “the time is now to find sustainable solutions, else money will continue to flow but water will not”
The three day workshop which is from the 3rd to 5th of April 2012 at the Fiestal royale Hotel in Accra is under the Sustainability Water Service Delivery (SWSD) project currently managed by WSA Ghana, In collaboration with Water for People, MWRWH, Kwame Nkurmah university of Science and Technology (KNUST), the University of Development studies (UDS) with funding from the Conrad Hilton Foundation. The project was primarily instituted to assess the functionality and impact of water projects funded by the Conrad Hilton Foundation to develop a comprehensive sustainability framework that can be used in future water and sanitation projects. The workshop participants include WASH stakeholders in Ghana as well as representatives of organizations like Water for People, Akvo, World Vision ,Conrad Hilton Foundation among others.