Water Crisis in Ghana

Most towns and villages lack healthy drinking water, hospitals, and basic sanitation, which is what has lead to the water crisis there. Currently, there is heavy tension between the government and its’ people within the region because a feasible solution to the lack of water and sanitation has yet to be found and everyday people will be forced to drink unsafe water in order to survive. In this research paper, there will be a discussion of Ghana and its political layout, the water and sanitation crisis they are being faced with, and how the political climate is affecting finding a solution to the issue. The Republic of Ghana, or Ghana, is located along the Gulf of Guinea, between the Ivory Coast and Togo1.

Ghana was the first Sub-Saharan African country to gain their independence from UK’s colonial rule in 1957 and it officially became The Republic of Ghana in 1960. In recent news, The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has announced its’ plan to ration water supply to only specific towns and villages in order to reserve water. It has been able to subsidize the water for twenty-six low-income communities in the urban areas. The company has been working in line with the GAMA-SWP in order to ensure there is the improvement of the water access as well as sanitation in the area. The world bank has been behind the funding of the program and hence making things to work better in order to solve the water crisis that has affected the country.

There have also been prospective customers who have been paying for the pipes in order to ensure that there is enough supply of pipes to transport water across the country towns. The agricultural sector in the country that is often relied upon by the citizens for food had been affected and hence reducing the supply of as well. Due to improper utilization of water in Ghana, there have been negative effects such as the water logging salinity, limited production, deterioration if the groundwater as well as a reduction in the fertility of the soil. Due to such effects on the soil, the population has been at risk due to low production of the soil quantity and hence low food supply to the citizens4.

In addition to this, the country population has been at risk of using shared water with other countries and hence it would likely affect the economic growth of the country since more funds would be directed towards the supply of water. The fact people in Ghana have been using well water for several years have also caused a great danger on their lives due to the increased level of cholera in some areas. The crisis has also been able to attract many investors into the country who could help in the management of water and develop better measures to ensure there are proper water treatment methods to reduce illnesses in the available water. Investors have also been able to help the citizens in Ghana to dig boreholes in the areas where there was limited water supply hence an opportunity that had not been taken by the government in the past days.

The government has also been able to embark on dredging works at the riverbeds an opportunity that would most likely improve the storage of water when the rainy season approaches. The water crisis has, therefore, made the government aggressive in taking care of every project that could help in holding water. In addition to this, the government has also been able to create a tree planting initiative and therefore the water crisis has enabled it to take a look at the importance of trees in the affected areas. In this case, the dam has been threatening the supply of water to Egypt because it is likely to make the Blue Nile dry in the future in connection with other huge dams in Ethiopia as well.

7 The Blue Nile had helped Egypt to survive for many decades and therefore an attack on the river Nile would be too delicate for its survival. Egypt had been fearing potential threats from Akosombo dam in Ghana due to its large consumption of water in the all seasons a similar case of the Renaissance dam being constructed in Ethiopia. Cutting off the Blue Nile would destroy several parts of the precious land and would further squeeze its population who at the moment still face water shortages. The Blue Nile is the source of ninety percent of the water available in the country and therefore cutting off the river would be ever harmful creating threats between Ghana and Egypt. " Water. org. Accessed April 24, 2018.