€180m to support water, sanitation projects in urban areas, schools
A total budget of €180 million under the Ghana-Netherlands WASH Programme (GNWP) has been committed to improving and increasing access to drinking water and sanitation services in urban areas of Ghana and schools in these areas.
The eight-year programme, which began in 2012 will end in 2020.
The GNWP also focuses on providing sustainable and innovative solutions to the challenging water and sanitation problems in Ghana.
This is done by using the private sector as a catalyst for the development of infrastructure for sanitation and water and to ensure sustainable operation and maintenance of the facilities.
Also, as part of the programme, Ghana has successfully concluded a Match Making Mission in The Hague, The Netherlands.
The Match Making mission is to facilitate partnerships and strengthen business relations between Dutch and Ghanaian parties in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector and also explore other business opportunities in The Netherlands.
The programme, which was attended by a 26-member Ghanaian delegation led by the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Julius Debrah, and accompanied by the Policy Advisor with The Netherlands Embassy in Ghana, Ms Elsie Appau, is a collaborative programme between the Governments of Ghana and the Netherlands.
Public sector participation
In motivating and leveraging private sector involvement and inclusion, €30 million was also allocated for a Public Private Partnership facility called the Ghana WASH Window (GWW).
The GWW would, therefore, serve as a catalyst for the private sector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Ghana to forge partnerships with the private sector in the Netherlands through Match Making and come up with innovative and sustainable proposals to be considered for funding.
The trade mission was concluded with an impressive closing ceremony which was attended by large numbers of government officials and sector players made up of the private sector and NGOs in the WASH sector in the Netherlands and beyond.
Participants had the opportunity to visit seven municipalities and interacted with waste management and business establishments, and forged business cooperation with municipalities.
The Ghanaian firms and companies also had a very successful match-making mission as each firm concluded with two or three partnerships with Dutch companies.
The team also had the privilege of having discussions with some business and financial institutions in The Hague on trade and other areas of mutual interest such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Amsterdam Port.
The programme was concluded with the signing of a letter of intent with World Waternet, an organisation in The Netherlands that manages world water issues by entering into partnership in the areas of sharing knowledge and experiences in water and waste water management.
World Waternet has tremendous experience in the management of both clean and waste water and currently manages all water issues in the municipality of Amsterdam and 25 others.
