Rudolf Amenga-Etego argues against the privatization of water in Ghana and introduces an example of community driven water delivery managed for the public good instead of profits. In a country where in some parts the average citizen earns only 50 cents a day, but is expected to pay the full market price for water, he argues for a water management system that “incorporates the collective wisdom of the community as an operative rule”.

The neo-liberal ideology that is driving water policy globally is rooted in the in the so-called “Washington Consensus”, which is nothing but a market fundamentalist conspiracy to corner the world’s resources to satisfy the greed of a tiny minority. It is an ideology that puts profits before people, threatens our eco-systems through excessive exploitation and turns the essentials of life into mere articles of trade.

Ghana, a country of 20 million people with 10 million of them earning less than 2 dollars a day, is a typical example of a well-endowed country reduced to begging. After decades of trying to adjust our economy to fit into a global trading system crafted by a few corporations with the complicity of the Bretton Woods institutions and spineless governments at their beck and call, we are consigned to the fringes of humanity where life is cheaper than condoms. There are parts of Ghana, the Upper East region being typical, where the average citizen earns only 50 cents a day and is now also expected to pay the full market price for water.

This is a consequence of the signing of a management service contract in November this year, handing over the management of the water service to the private sector. The signing of the contract is significant in a number of ways:

- It signals a change in the World Bank policy, which hitherto favoured leases and concessions. The assumption then was that the private sector would invest in the water sector. This didn’t happen.
- It is an indication that the water corporations now prefer management service contracts that guarantee upfront payments with little or no risks.
- The World Bank remains essentially the smokescreen behind which the corporations operate.
- To the activist, it means “not yet uhuru”.

Management service contracts are essentially attempts to take over public utilities for the purpose of making money without investment risk. The operational principle remains full cost recovery from consumers, irrespective of the ability to pay. Creative and innovative ways of providing safe water, especially to the poor, are ignored and therefore no investment flows into alternative thinking.

In Ghana, keeping water in public hands is an expression of sovereignty. The country has been declared a “highly indebted poor country” (HIPC) by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, who structurally adjusted her into debt in the first place. This is a country at the mercy of aid agencies. Surrendering her water to foreign corporate control will be the final act of capitulation.

There is no shortage of talent in Ghana. What is needed is a management system that incorporates the collective wisdom of the community as an operative rule. It is by involving people not as mere consumers but as citizens with rights, including the right to participate and to hold the management system accountable that will ensure the changes necessary for good water governance and universal access.

Certain policy interventions are key to eliminating the current neoliberal inequalities in water delivery to better achieve the ‘public good’ aspects of water services. These include:

- no prepaid meters for poor households;
- increased amounts of free water;
- better regulation of tariff structures so that they do not penalize the poor; and
- a non- discriminatory infrastructural plan that ensures that poor areas are equally served.

There should also be increased public funding for improving the efficiency of water systems and access. There should be a programme aimed at promoting public sector alternatives including community-based systems.

A celebrated example in Ghana which clearly demonstrates innovativeness is the Savelugu-Ghana Water Company partnership. In 2000, the Savelugu community and the Ghana Water Company signed an agreement to supply water to the Savelugu Township. Roles for both parties were defined, and the terms of the agreement were negotiated. The agreement involves the supply of bulk potable water to the township, which has the responsibility of retailing the water to community members. The bulk price is negotiated from time to time and a community water and sanitation board meets to set the retail price and discuss exemptions.

The success of the Savelugu experiment derives largely from its underlying principle that a community is able to work with a public utility to provide a service for its members efficiently. A recent base line survey by the Foundation for Grassroots Initiatives in Africa (GrassRootsAfrica) stated some of the ways that the township and the Ghana Water Company have benefited from the partnership as follows:

The township:
- It has guaranteed supply of potable water from a public utility.
- It is relieved from the complex process of producing and treating water as in other small towns practicing community management.
- The means exists to negotiate with the utility on price and quantity of water to be supplied.
- There is democratic decision-making among community members on tariffs and exemption procedures.
- Profits accrued from water sales are used for expansion and other community development projects.
- There is capacity to negotiate with private sector companies to provide services.
- There is the opportunity to benefit from technical support from the public utility at acceptable costs.
- Equitable access to water supply is promoted through participatory decision-making and management processes.
- Women are involved in decisions on water delivery.
- Social control measures are used to check pilfering and illegal connections and ensure prompt detection and containment of leaking pipes to reduce losses.

The Ghana Water Company:
- It saves on the cost of personnel to bill and collect tariffs from the community.
- It attains a relatively higher economic return per unit of water supplied to domestic consumers, as compared to other parts of Tamale.
- Unaccounted for water reduces to a minimum (near zero), as the community pays for all water consumed.
- It enjoys an intimate and healthy relationship with consumers.
- Pilfering and collusion with consumers to manipulate revenue due to the company is eliminated as the community pays to the company through crossed checks.

The argument that there is no efficient way of delivering safe water without the participation of the private sector peels off in the face of the Savelugu example. Shockingly, in spite of this exciting news, the World Bank is refusing to look that way. The World Bank’s privatization fixation is entirely inappropriate in the delivery of water to the people of Ghana. Activists in Ghana have argued that the government of Ghana and the donor community, if they are really serious about addressing the accountability and efficiency issues alleged to be bedeviling the Ghana Water Company, should be investing in the Savelugu model and investigating ways of replicating it. Wholly community-based systems should also be supported as alternatives to privatization.

* Rudolf Amenga-Etego is with the Foundation For GrassRoots Initiatives In Africa

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