Ghana on Friday joined the rest of the world to mark the World Water Day celebration with a call on political and traditional leaders, stakeholders and the media to educate Ghanaians to appreciate the need for the people to be more responsible towards water use and conservation.
Speaking at a symposium organized as part of the celebration, Hon. Alhaji Collins Dauda, the Sector Minister for Water Resource, Works and Housing, said human beings basic fulfillment needs are heavily dependent on water.
” However , management of water is especially challenging due to a number of factors such as uneven distribution in time and space, rapid urbanization, pollution and climate change” the Minister bemoans.
He said demand for water on other hand to satisfy a growing population for food production, energy, and an industrial use is increasing which provides the opportunity among users and stakeholders to cooperate.
Alhaji Collins Dauda , described the theme for the celebration” Water Cooperation” as a call on Ghanaians to reflect on the state of their local and international waters and to also take action on the best ways of equitably sharing water in order to meet the ever growing demand.
He also touched on the degradation of water bodies through illegal activities which poses serious threats to health; aggravate scarcity and also a source of potential disputes among users and communities.
Whiles Government is taking pragmatic steps to curb the negative situation, he used the opportunity to appeal and encourage Ghanaians to come up with a well meaning collaborative intervention to support addressing the menace.
The Minister further challenged Ghanaians to be mindful of the negative impacts of climate change which includes floods, droughts and increased competition among water resources users. ” The effects of climate and its emerging issues have become so critical that we have to foster partnerships and cooperation among stakeholders”.
He commended organizers for choice of ”Theme” chosen for this year’s celebration which he describes as an invitation to nurture the opportunities that we have for Trans boundary water management in Ghana.
He disclosed that the topic also encourages the use of ” Benefit Sharing” to promote cooperation with Ghana’s riparian neighbors’.
He reiterated Ghana Government’s commitment to continue supporting the Volta Basin Authority in carrying out its mandate of ensuring the equitable sharing and sustained development and management of the Volta Basin.
He mentioned that the six riparian countries made of Ghana , Cote d’ Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo and Mali which form the Volta Basin Authority are sisters and should therefore be bind together as they share a common natural resource.