Project “Integrating Governance and Modeling”
Challenge Program on Water and Food
Report on
Analysis of Governance Structures for Water Resources
Management
in the White Volta Basin
Ghana
Regina Birner, Eva Schiffer, Felix Asante, Osman Gyasi and Nancy McCarthy
September 2005
Table of Contents
1
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1
1.2
1.3
2
BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................................................... 1
OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT “INTEGRATING GOVERNANCE AND MODELING” .................................... 2
PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT .......................................................................................... 2
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK............................................................................................................... 3
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.3.1
2.3.2
2.4
3
DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS ................................................................................................................ 3
TYPES OF DECISIONS IN WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ............................................................... 4
COORDINATION MECHANISMS .............................................................................................................. 5
Types of coordination ...................................................................................................................... 5
Reasons to Establish Coordination Mechanisms for Water Resources Management ..................... 5
CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES ........................................................................ 6
PROFILE OF THE REGION AND RESEARCH METHODS .............................................................. 7
3.1
PROFILE OF THE RESEARCH REGION ..................................................................................................... 7
3.1.1
Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 7
3.1.2
Poverty in the Upper East Region: Current Trends and Future Perspectives ................................ 8
3.1.3
Agricultural Production .................................................................................................................. 9
3.1.4
Water Resources ............................................................................................................................ 10
3.2
RESEARCH METHODS ......................................................................................................................... 12
3.2.1
Interviews with key informants and stakeholders .......................................................................... 12
3.2.2
Assessment of Community-level Water Governance and Needs .................................................... 12
3.2.3
Workshops and Round Table Discussion ...................................................................................... 13
3.2.4
Secondary information .................................................................................................................. 13
4
STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVED IN WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ................................ 13
4.1
OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................................................... 13
4.2
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.................................................................................................................... 13
4.2.1
Overview of the Administrative System ......................................................................................... 13
4.2.2
District Assemblies ........................................................................................................................ 16
4.2.3
Sector-specific Administration / Line Departments ....................................................................... 18
4.2.3.1
4.2.3.2
4.2.3.3
4.2.3.4
4.2.3.5
4.2.4
Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) ......................................................................................... 18
Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) ........................................................................... 18
Ministry of Health / Ghana Health Service.......................................................................................... 19
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ............................................................................................ 19
Other Government Agencies ............................................................................................................... 20
Inter-Departmental Commissions ................................................................................................. 21
4.2.4.1
4.2.4.2
Water Resources Commission (WRC) ................................................................................................ 21
Other Commissions ............................................................................................................................. 22
4.3
TRADITIONAL AUTHORITIES ............................................................................................................... 23
4.4
COMMUNITY-LEVEL ORGANIZATIONS FOR WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ................................ 23
4.5
DONOR-FUNDED PROJECTS ................................................................................................................. 25
4.5.1
Village Infrastructure Project (VIP) and Community-Based Rural Development Project
(CBRDP) ..................................................................................................................................................... 25
4.5.2
Community Water and Sanitation Project ..................................................................................... 27
4.5.3
Land Conservation and Smallholder Rehabilitation Project (LACOSREP) ................................. 27
4.5.4
District Capacity Building Project (DISCAP) ............................................................................... 27
4.5.5
Other Donor-Funded Projects ...................................................................................................... 28
4.6
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGOS) ............................................................................... 28
4.7
PRIVATE SECTOR ................................................................................................................................ 28
4.7.1
Technical Assistance Consultancies .............................................................................................. 28
4.7.2
Hydrological Surveyors................................................................................................................. 29
4.7.3
Building Contractors ..................................................................................................................... 29
4.7.4
Area Mechanics ............................................................................................................................. 29
4.7.5
Ghana Water Company Ltd. .......................................................................................................... 29
4.7.6
Irrigation Company of the Upper East Region (ICOUR) .............................................................. 30
i
5
POTENTIALS AND PROBLEMS OF WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND RELATED
GOVERNANCE ISSUES ................................................................................................................................... 30
5.1
WATER FOR AGRICULTURAL USE ....................................................................................................... 30
5.1.1
Small Reservoirs ............................................................................................................................ 30
5.1.1.1
5.1.1.2
5.1.1.3
5.1.1.4
5.1.1.5
5.1.2
5.1.3
Rationale for increasing the number of small reservoirs ..................................................................... 30
Challenges of increasing the number of small reservoirs .................................................................... 30
Problems of management and maintenance ......................................................................................... 33
Land Tenure Issues .............................................................................................................................. 33
Health Issues ....................................................................................................................................... 34
Large-scale Irrigation Systems ..................................................................................................... 35
Irrigation along the White Volta Using Pumps ............................................................................. 36
5.1.3.1
5.1.3.2
MOFA’s Three Crops per Year Program ............................................................................................ 36
Existing Practices of Using River Water for Irrigation ........................................................................ 38
5.1.4
Irrigation with Shallow Wells in Dry River Beds .......................................................................... 38
5.1.5
Irrigation Using Ground Water .................................................................................................... 38
5.1.6
Soil Conservation and Water Harvesting ...................................................................................... 38
5.1.7
Water for Livestock Production and Fishery ................................................................................ 39
5.2
DOMESTIC WATER .............................................................................................................................. 39
5.2.1
Problems of Water Quantity .......................................................................................................... 39
5.2.2
Expanding the number of bore holes ............................................................................................. 39
5.2.3
Problems of Water Quality ............................................................................................................ 40
5.3
INDUSTRIAL WATER USE .................................................................................................................... 41
5.4
IMPLICATIONS FOR MODELING ........................................................................................................... 41
6
POTENTIALS AND CHALLENGES OF MULTI-STAKEHOLDER GOVERNANCE IN THE
WHITE VOLTA BASIN .................................................................................................................................... 43
6.1
6.2
EXISTING COORDINATION MECHANISMS ............................................................................................ 43
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE WHITE VOLTA BASIN OFFICE ........................................................................ 44
List of Tables
TABLE 1: TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS IN THE PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND COLLECTIVE ACTION SECTOR ........................ 4
TABLE 2: PROJECTED REGIONAL POVERTY RATES FOR A GROWTH SCENARIO LEADING TO MIDDLE INCOME
STATUS (NOMINAL INCOME OF 1,000 US$ PER CAPITA) IN 2015 ................................................................... 9
TABLE 3: AVAILABILITY OF SMALL RESERVOIRS IN THE UPPER EAST REGION ..................................................... 11
TABLE 4: AVAILABILITY OF INFRASTRUCTURE FOR DOMESTIC WATER SUPPLY ................................................... 11
TABLE 5: FEATURES OF COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEMS IN THE SURVEY COMMUNITIES ....................................... 26
TABLE 6: POSSIBLE SCENARIOS FOR MODELING .................................................................................................... 42
List of Figures
FIGURE 1: GHANA AND THE UPPER EAST REGION ................................................................................................... 8
FIGURE 2: PRODUCTION OF MAJOR CROPS IN THE UPPER EAST REGION.................................................................. 9
FIGURE 3: SCHEMATIC PRESENTATION OF A SMALL-SCALE RESERVOIR SYSTEM .................................................. 10
FIGURE 4: STAKEHOLDER MAP .............................................................................................................................. 14
FIGURE 5: STRUCTURE OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM .............................................................................. 15
FIGURE 6: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE WATER USER ASSOCIATIONS ................................................... 24
ii
Abbreviations
CBRDP
CSIAR
CWSA
DBO
DCD
DCE
DCPU
DPO
DISCAP
EC
EPA
EIA
G&M
GIDA
GLOWA
GoG
IFAD
IFPRI
LACOSREP
MLGRD
MOFA
NGO
SARI
SD
UER
UNDP
VIP
WUA
WATSAN
WRD
Community-Based Rural Development Project
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
Community Water and Sanitation Agency
(responsible for rural drinking water supply)
District Budget Officer
District Coordinating Director
District Chief Executive
District Planning Coordinating Unit
District Planning Officer
District Capacity Building Project, financed by the Canadian
Development Assistance CIDA
Executive Committee of the District Assembly
Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental Impact Assessment
Integrating Governance and Modeling Project
Ghana Irrigation Development Authority
Research Project on River Basin Hydrology and Management, funded
by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF)
Government of Ghana
International Fund for Agricultural Development
International Food Policy Research Institute
Upper East Region Land Conservation and Smallholder Rehabilitation
Project, funded by IFAD
Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development
Ministry of Food and Agriculture
Non-governmental organization
Savannah Agricultural Research Institute
Sector Department, District level
Upper East Region of Ghana
United Nations Development Program
Village Infrastructure Project
Water User Association (esp. for the management of small reservoirs)
Community Water and Sanitation Committee (for boreholes)
Water Resources Commission
iii
1
1.1
Introduction
Background
In large parts of Africa, the fight against poverty and the prospects to reach the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) crucially depend on the development and sustainable
management of infrastructure for drinking water as well as for irrigated crop farming,
livestock production and fisheries. In rural areas, where the majority of the population
depends on agriculture, raising the productivity of crop and livestock production remains the
most promising strategy to achieve broad-based pro-poor growth, which is required to halve
hunger and poverty by 2015, as required by the first MDG. The 7th MDG – to ensure
environmental sustainability – calls for integrating the principles of sustainable development
into country policies and programs, for reversing the loss of environmental resources, and for
reducing by half the population without access to safe drinking water. Safe drinking water is
also essential to reach the health-related MDGs – reducing child mortality and improving
maternal health.
Providing the public investment required for expanding drinking water facilities and irrigation
systems, and improving the water supply for livestock and fisheries constitutes a major
challenge in Africa. Moreover, managing these systems in an efficient, equitable and
sustainable way has proved to be difficult in many African countries. It requires the
development of appropriate governance structures for water resources management both at the
state and the community level - a challenge that has often been underestimated and accounts
for past failures in water resources development. In order to address such governance
problems, the last decade has seen a shift towards demand-orientated approaches and towards
involving of communities, NGOs and the private sector in financing, providing and managing
infrastructure for drinking water and sanitation, irrigation and livestock water supply This
development corresponds to a general trend in public infrastructure and service provision in
developing countries.
Apart from the general governance problems involved in any type of public infrastructure and
service provision, water resources management involves specific challenges due to the fact
that water resources are shared within a river basin, which leads to externalities and
competition between different water uses and groups of water users. To address these
problems, the concept of “Integrated Water Resources Management” (IWRM) has been
developed. It aims at a holistic approach of managing water resources at the basin or subbasin level and envisages a close coordination between different governmental and nongovernmental organizations involved in water resources development and water use. Creating
a multi-stakeholder governance structure, which facilitates the coordination between these
different actors, is a major challenge.
The governance of water resources in river basins is particularly complicated because it has to
address three types of complexities: (1) environmental and economic interactions which affect
water availability and quality, and concomitantly, household decisions on land and water use,
(2) social interactions between stakeholders who are socio-economically and culturally
diverse and who often have competing interests and power relations, and (3) a constantly
changing macro-environment, including climate change and population pressures. Decisionsupport tools based on computer-models that capture the hydrological and socio-economic
interactions of water resources management at the basin- or sub-basin level offer a promising
tool for improving water resources management. While computer-based modeling that
integrates hydrological and socio-economic aspects of water resources management has made
considerable progress during the last years, there is still a lack of knowledge and experience
1
of using such decision-support tools for practical planning purposes. In particular, the use of
such tools in multi-stakeholder governance structures remains largely unexplored. Hence,
there is a need to better understand how the organizations that are in charge of integrated
water resources management can best make use of such decision-support systems to promote
efficient, equitable and sustainable use of water resources.
1.2
Objectives of the Project “Integrating Governance and Modeling”
Against the background described above, the goal of the research project “Integrating
Governance and Modeling” is to research the use of decision-support tools based on
computer-models by organizations involved in integrated water resources management (multistakeholder governance structures). By using integrated simulation models as decision-tools
to support integrated water resources management, the project aims to contribute to the
overall goal of managing land and water resources in the White Volta Basin in a manner that
is economically efficient, environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable. It is expected
that the use of simulation models will help to identify and quantify trade-offs that may arise in
the short run, between the goals of economic growth, reduced vulnerability and food
insecurity, environmental sustainability and equity. Simulation modeling can also be used to
examine long run impacts of predicted changes in climate and to evaluate alternative policies
under different climate scenarios.
Though simulation models can help to identify technical, economic and institutional options
that increase water productivity and reduce vulnerability to shocks, dealing with the
remaining trade-offs involves value judgments that have to be politically negotiated within
appropriate governance structures. Therefore, the proposed project also aims at contributing to
the design and implementation of governance structures that improve the prospects that such
negotiation processes lead to equitable and socially desirable outcomes. Of critical importance
to the success of these processes is bridging the gap between scientific information and
stakeholders’ knowledge and perceptions. The project is financed by the international
Challenge Program on Water and Food (www.waterforfood.org) and has two project areas: a
sub-basin of the White Volta Basin in Northern Ghana, and the Melado Basin in the Andes of
Chile. This report deals with the White Volta component of the project.
1.3
Purpose and Structure of the Report
An important condition for the use of a decision-support tool is an analysis of the existing
governance structures for water resource management. This analysis is important for two
reasons:
1) To inform the development of the decision-support tool so that the underlying
simulation model can capture different types of actors involved in water use and water
management, and the way in which they interact;
2) To identify knowledge flows and decision-structures in order to assess how the
decision-support tool can be used in order to improve water governance.
This report presents the major findings of a first analysis of governance structures for water
resources management in a sub-basin of the White Volta Basin, which has been identified by
the Ghanaian Water Resources Commission as a pilot area to establish a Basin Management
Board. This area, which covers five administrative districts in the Upper East Region and one
District in the Northern Region of Ghana is the project area of the Ghana component of the
“Integrating Governance and Modeling” project
The report is structured as follows: Chapter 2 presents a conceptual framework for the
analysis of governance structures. Chapter 3 describes the research region and the research
2
methods. Chapter 4 characterizes the major stakeholders and the organizational structure of
the water sector in the research region. In Chapter 5, the major problems related to water
resources development and management are analyzed, and their governance dimension is
discussed. Chapter 6 draws some conclusions regarding the challenges and opportunities of
establishing a multi-stakeholder governance structure in the White Volta Basin.
2
2.1
Conceptual Framework
Definitions and Concepts
Governance
According to a widely used definition, governance can be understood as the “... the exercise
of economic, political, and administrative authority to manage a country’s affairs at all levels.
It comprises mechanisms, processes, and institutions through which citizens and groups
articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations, and mediate their
differences” (UNDP, 1997). This definition is applied here to a specific subject area - the use
and management of water resources, and to a specific geographical area - a river sub-basin.
Institutions and organizations
The term “governance structures” is used here to refer to the institutional and organizational
dimensions of governance. Governance structures can be considered as the frame conditions
that shape policy processes and govern the formulation, adoption and implementation of
decisions, in this case related to water resources management. The term “institutions” can be
defined as the humanly devised constraints that structure human interaction. They are made
up of formal constraints (rules, laws, constitutions), informal constraints (norms of behavior,
conventions and self-imposed codes of conduct), and their enforcement characteristics (North,
1990, 1991). The term “formal” implies a basis in formal modern law. Informal institutions
may be based on customary law. For the purpose of analysis, it is useful to distinguish
institutions from organizations. As North put it, institutions can be considered to be the rules
of the game, and organizations the players. Organizations are characterized by membership
and roles assigned to the members. Like institutions, organizations may be formal or
customary. The concept of legal pluralism describes the situation typically found in
developing countries that different legal systems overlap: – customary law, modern law,
regulations introduced by development projects.
Sectors
For the analysis of governance structures, it is useful to distinguish three sectors: the public
sector, the private sector, and a “third sector.” The latter sector can also be referred to as a
collective action sector, and it includes different types of organizations in civil society
(compare Uphoff, 1986). Table 1 further specifies these three sectors. Governance structures
may combine organizations from different sectors, as in case of a committee comprising
public sector and third sector organizations.
The term sector is also used to refer to subject areas, such as the water sector, the health
sector, etc. Ministries and line agencies responsible for these areas are referred to as sector
agencies.
Levels
For the analysis of governance structures, it is useful to distinguish different levels. With
regard to water resources management, one needs to consider to overlapping classification
systems. According to the political-administrative system, one can consider the following
levels: the level of individuals, followed by the household and firm level, the community
3
level, different tiers of local government, the regional level, the national level, and the
international level. These levels intersect with the levels one can define according to water use
and water management criteria: the level of the individual water users, the household level,
the community of individuals or households using a joint infrastructure – or subsystem thereof
- for drinking water or irrigation, sub-basins of rivers and finally river basins, which may also
be internationally shared.
Table 1: Types of Organizations in the Public, Private and Collective Action Sector
Public sector
Government
Public
administration
Collective action sector (Third sector)
Membership
organizations
Cooperatives
Service
organizations
Private sector
Private
businesses
Farm
households
profit
making
multiple goals
(profit and
non-profit)
Orientation of organizations
political
bureaucratic
self-help
(common
interests)
self-help
(resource
pooling)
charitable
(non-profit)
Roles of individuals in relation to different kinds of organizations
voters and
constituents
citizens or
subjects
members
members
clients or
beneficiaries
customers
or
employees
family/
household
members
Source: modified from Uphoff (1993:613)
Stakeholders
All individuals and organizations that have an interest – or a stake – in the use and
management of water resources can be considered as stakeholders. The terms “actors” or
“interest groups” are also used to refer to the stakeholders. These terms, however, imply a
certain level of organization or the ability to take actions. The term stakeholder acknowledges
that individuals or groups may have an interest in water resources management, but lack the
incentives or capacity to organize themselves to pursue these interests.
2.2
Types of Decisions in Water Resources Management
Governance structures are important for decision-making and the implementation of
decisions. With regard to water resources management, it is useful to distinguish two major
types of decisions: (1) decisions on investment and maintenance of infrastructure, and
(2) regulatory decisions regarding water use and water quality.
ad (1): To some extent, water resources can be used individually and without infrastructure
investment (e.g., fetching water from rivers and streams). Beyond this level, however, the
utilization of water resources – both for drinking water and for irrigation –requires investment
in infrastructure – and the maintenance of this infrastructure. The infrastructure for irrigation
and drinking water is usually used by groups of households or communities – which involves
typical problems of collective action - and it requires state or community investment and
maintenance. A variety of institutional arrangements can be applied for the financing,
provision and maintenance of water-related infra-structure, as the current debate on
decentralization, devolution to user groups, contracting out to NGOs and the private sector
shows. Hence, decision-problems arise regarding the type of infrastructure to be invested, to
its distribution and to the institutional arrangements regarding financing, provision and
maintenance. The analysis of these institutional arrangements is an important aspect of
analyzing governance structures for water resources management.
4
ad (2): The use of water resources involves various externalities, both with regard to water
quality and quantity. The typical upstream-downstream problems, which appear at different
scales - are an important example. Overuse water resources may also affect water availability
of future generations, thus causing negative externalities for them. Dealing with these
externalities requires regulatory decisions. The authority for making these regulatory
decisions may rest with different community organizations and/or state agencies. Analyzing
the way in which these regulatory decisions are made and implemented is an important aspect
of analyzing water-related governance structures.
2.3
Coordination Mechanisms
An important aspect of analyzing governance structures is to identify the coordination
mechanisms that exist, or could be created, between the stakeholders from different sectors
and at different levels in order to make investment, management and regulatory decisions and
to implement these decisions.
2.3.1 Types of coordination
Three major coordination mechanisms – or modes of interaction among stakeholders - can be
distinguished in the analysis of governance structures (compare Williamson, 1986):
1) Hierarchical coordination;
2) Market coordination; and
3) Co-operative or collaborative types of coordination.
The hierarchical type of coordination presupposes a power relationship, which may have an
economic, political or legal basis. Organizations in the public sector typically rely on
hierarchical coordination mechanisms. Business enterprises and non-profit service
organizations usually have an internal hierarchical structure, but may enter into market types
of exchange with each other. In membership organizations and cooperatives, co-operative
types of coordination are most frequent. The three types of coordination can be considered as
“ideal types”. In reality, combinations of the three forms may play an important role.
Identifying the coordination mechanisms established for the interaction between different
types of organizations is an important aspect of analyzing governance. Which type of
coordination mechanism is appropriate for a particular situation depends on the frame
conditions and on the objectives to be achieved. Possible objectives related to water resources
management are discussed in the next sub-section.
2.3.2 Reasons to Establish Coordination Mechanisms for Water Resources Management
1) Enhancing Information Flows
An important reason for establishing coordination mechanisms is to enhance the flow of
information in order to enable different actors entitled to make better informed decisions on
the issues they are responsible for. Relevant types of information include factual information
about the hydrological and socio-economic aspects of water resources use, as well as
information about the needs, interests and views of the different stakeholders regarding
interventions in water resources management.
2) Coordination of decision-making and implementation
Establishing coordination mechanisms, and improving already existing coordination
mechanisms can be expected to lead to better outcomes of strategies that involve different
decision-makers and implementing actors. Coordination of decision-making may take the
form of “harmonization”, or the alignment of decisions that are taken independently by
different stakeholders. A more far-reaching form of coordination is achieved by joint
5
decision-making. Depending on how authority is distributed, joint decision-making processes
may take different forms. If authority is equally shared, the stakeholders may negotiate a
consensus or practice voting according to defined majority rules. In hierarchical relationships,
joint decision-making may imply that lower-level authorities make decisions that are then
approved or changed by higher-level authorities, such as in different tiers of government.
Different actors may be involved in deciding on different aspects of a joint decision, for
example a sector agency may decide on technical aspects, and political decision-making body
may give an overall approval. Coordination is not only important for decision-making, but
also for implementation. Problems arising during the implementation process may be
addressed by setting up fora where the different stakeholders involved in implementation can
meet, discuss problems and negotiate joint solutions.
3) Facilitation of Regulation
Regulatory decisions are a type of decisions that often involve challenges of implementation,
especially if the institutional capacity of enforcement is low. Enforcing environmental
regulations regarding water resources management is a typical case. Involving different
stakeholders into regulatory decision-making – even if there is no legal rule requiring such
involvement – may be a strategy to improve the prospects for implementing regulatory
decisions. Experience with collaborative management approaches have shown that
stakeholders are often more likely to comply to rules if they have been involved in devising
those rules.
4) Promoting Democratic Forms of Governance
The first three reasons for coordination have an instrumental character – they are instruments
for achieving better outcomes. Coordination mechanisms that involve citizen participation can
also be considered as a goal in their own right – in the sense of promoting democratic forms
of governance. With regard to citizen participation, one distinguish direct and representative
forms of participation. Direct forms of participation involve, for example, meetings in which
all citizens or all users or potential users of a particular water infrastructure participate.
Representative forms of participation involve representatives of citizens. These
representatives may be the leaders the leaders of community organizations involved in water
resources management, or they may be the representatives elected by the general public, such
as local government representatives. In traditional systems, traditional authorities may also be
considered as representatives.
Apart from distinguishing between direct and indirect representation, one can also distinguish
different degrees of participation. Typical classifications distinguish the following levels:
(1) sharing information, (2) consultation and seeking opinions, (3) sharing of decision-making
authority, and (4) devolving decision-making authority. “Stakeholder participation” has
become an important concept in water resources management, and more generally in
development practice. Experience has shown that to avoid problems of “token” participation,
it is useful that those actors organizing participatory processes ensure transparency as to
which type of participation is envisaged, and what the rights and responsibilities of those
involved in a participatory process are.
2.4
Criteria for Assessing Governance Structures
Governance structures can be analyzed from a positive and a normative perspective. A
positive analysis will focus on describing the existing governance structures and explain why
water resources management is organized the way it is, considering historical and political
factors. A normative analysis will assess the observed governance structures and their
outcomes against a set of normative objectives. Selecting these objectives necessarily
6
involves value judgments. Using the generally agreed principles of sustainable development,
the following criteria can be considered:
(1) Economic criteria
 Efficiency in water use, taking the cost of infrastructure provision and maintenance
into account
 Economic impact of water use
(2) Social criteria
 Distributional aspects – access of different groups of the population – including
disadvantaged and marginalized groups; upstream and downstream users; present and
future generations – to water for domestic and agricultural use
(3) Environmental criteria
 Sustainability of water use, considering quantity and water quality (pollution, aquatic
biodiversity)
The present report focuses on a positive analysis of the water-related governance structures
in the research region. The report will also assess the orientations of different stakeholders
regarding these goals, distinguishing between a developmental orientation (stakeholders
focusing primarily on economic and social goals) and an environmental orientation
(stakeholders focusing primarily on environmental protection goals). A quantitative analysis
of the impact of existing governance structures with regard to these normative criteria is,
however, beyond this analysis.
3
3.1
Profile of the Region and Research Methods
Profile of the Research Region
3.1.1 Overview
As indicated above, the research region is a sub-basin of the White Volta Basin, which has
been selected by the Ghanaian Water Resources Commission to implement a pilot project of
establishing a Basin Management Office and a Basin Management Board. The following
Districts in the Upper East Region of Ghana have been selected:
1) Kassena-Nankana
2) Bongo
3) Bolga
4) Bawku West
5) Bawku East
A further District in located the Upper East Region (Busila) was not included because it is
located in a different sub-basin. Since this decision was made, the administrative Districts of
the Upper East Region were redefined, and two new Districts were created: Bawku-Municipal
and Guru-Tampana. In the Northern Region, the District West Mamprusi was selected.
Since most governance-related data are available regional level, the following description
focuses on the Upper East Region, but it can be assumed that the conditions for the District
located in the Northern Region are not fundamentally different, since it is located in a similar
agro-ecological zone and has similar socio-cultural conditions
The Upper East Region is located between latitudes 100 15’ and 110 10’North and longitudes
00 and 10 West. According to Ghana’s year 2000 population and housing census (GSS, 2002)
the region has a population of 920,089, made up of 442,492 males and 477,597 females. The
7
Upper East Region has a comparatively high population density (104.1 persons per sq. km),
which can be attributed to the comparatively favorable soil conditions in parts of the region.
The population of the Upper East Region is ethnically diverse, comprising different ethnic
groups that speak different languages. Over 80% of the population live in rural areas where
the availability of water, both for domestic and agricultural uses, is a major problem.
Figure 1: Ghana and the Upper East Region
Research
Area
#
S
Wa
#
S
Tamale
N
Ghana within the
West African Region
Kumasi
Upper East Region
#
S
#
S
Obuasi
#
S
Ho
Region
Konforidua
#
S
Lake Volta
[S#
%
#
S
100
0
100
#
S
[
%
Capital
#
S
City
Accra
Cape Coast
200 Kilometers
Source: ZEF database
Source: Adapted from Engel 2003.
3.1.2 Poverty in the Upper East Region: Current Trends and Future Perspectives
According to data from the Ghana Living Standard Survey, the Upper East Region has the
highest poverty rate of all administrative Regions in Ghana. The rate has increased from 67 %
to 88 % from 1991/92 to 1998/99. According to the preliminary results an economy-wide
multi-market simulation model constructed by Diao (2005), the poverty rates in the Upper
East, the Upper West and the Northern Region are likely to remain high, if the past growth
rates are projected into the future. Table 2 presents the poverty rates of an optimistic growth
scenario. This scenario would realize Ghana’s goal to reach middle income status (nominal
income of 1,000 US$ per capita) in 2015. The goal appears ambitious, but not impossible
(Diao, 2005). However, as shown in Table 2, the poverty rates in the Upper East and the
Upper West regions would still remain at approximately 70 %, even if Ghana reaches middle
income status by 2015.
The multi-market model was also used to simulate different agricultural development
strategies. The results showed that an agricultural development strategy that focuses primarily
on increasing the productivity of the major food staple crops could reduce the poverty rate in
the Upper East to a level of approximately 40 % (Diao, 2005). While these modeling results
are still preliminary, they underline the challenges of achieving pro-poor growth in the region,
and they highlight the central role that agricultural development will have to play for poverty
reduction.
8
Table 2: Projected Regional Poverty Rates for a Growth Scenario Leading to Middle
Income Status (Nominal Income of 1,000 US$ per Capita) in 2015
Source: Diao (2005)
3.1.3 Agricultural Production
Agriculture is the major economic activity with subsistence farming and extensive livestock
production being the main features. The region has a very short rainy season, lasting from
May to October, which is characterized by low and erratic rainfall. The average annual
rainfall received in the region is approximately 1000 mm. The area, like most parts of
northern Ghana, is characterized by a single growing season that lasts from May to October.
The uni-modal rainfall regime has its peak around August and is often associated with floods
and droughts that may occur in the same season. Rainfalls in the region are often very short in
duration, but rather intense, leading to high run-off rates.
500,000
450,000
400,000
350,000
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
-
Groundnuts
Maize
Rice
Guinea corn
Millet
19
87
19
89
19
91
19
93
19
95
19
97
19
99
20
01
20
03
MT
Figure 2: Production of Major Crops in the Upper East Region
Source: MOFA (2005)
9
Figure 2 displays the development in the production of major rainfed food crops in the Upper
East Region since 1987. The figures are based on field and yield measurements conducted by
the Statistical Unit of the Ministry for Food and Agriculture (MOFA) in a random sample of
households. The increase in production has mainly been due to an expansion in the cropping
area. With the exception of rice, the yields of the crops displayed in Figure 2 did not show any
increasing trend. They were all fluctuating around an average of 1 MT/ha (MOFA, 2005).
Problems in soil fertility and the limited availability of water are considered to be the major
limitations. In areas with irrigation, vegetables such as onions and tomato can be grown
during the dry season.
Livestock production, especially cattle, sheep and goats, plays an important role in the region,
too. The availability of water during the dry season and the prevalence of diseases are
considered to be major constraints for livestock production.
3.1.4 Water Resources1
The four major rivers crossing the Upper East Region are the White Volta, the Red Volta, the
Sissili and the Kulpawn. There are also a number of small streams that flow through the
region. Many of the streams are, however, are reduced to a series of ponds during the dry
season.
Water for irrigation and livestock and fishery
There are two large-scale irrigation systems in the Upper East Region, the Tono and the Vea
irrigation schemes. Tono is situated in the in the Kasena-Nankana while Vea is located in the
Bongo District. Apart from the irrigation of crops and livestock watering, the two systems are
the main sources of drinking water for the nearby urban and rural communities.
Apart from the two major irrigation systems, small reservoirs (also referred to as small dams)
and dug-outs are important water sources for dry season gardening, livestock watering and
domestic water needs. Many of the small dams were constructed during the 1960s. Figure 3
presents a schematic sketch of a small-scale irrigation scheme.
Figure 3: Schematic Presentation of a Small-Scale Reservoir System
Grass cover
Catchment area
Dam
wall
Irrigable area
Main drain
Reservoir
Spillway
channel
Main canal
Laterals
Source: Gyasi (2005).
1
The following description of major water sources and infrastructure is derived from the project report by Gyasi
(2005).
10
Table 3 displays the number of small reservoirs in five Districts of the Upper East Region.
These data were collected as part of a GTZ-sponsored poverty-mapping project (before the
creation of the two new Districts). The data for the sixth District (Bolga) were not available.
Though around 70 small dams have been rehabilitated in recent years, not all small dams
listed in Table 3 are functioning. The percent of communities per District in which a small
dam is located ranges from 9 % to 19 %. Water for livestock is not only available from small
dams, but also from dugouts and shallow wells. In addition, drinking troughs for livestock are
often constructed in connection with bore holes.
Table 3: Availability of Small Reservoirs in the Upper East Region
District
Bongo
Total population
No. of communities
Population/community
No. of comm. with reservoirs
% comm. with reservoirs
No. of dams
Population/reservoir ratio
118,871
199
597
20
10.1%
21
5,661
BawkuWest
176,214
173
1,019
20
11.6%
20
8,811
GaruTampane
161,851
212
763
20
9.4%
21
7,707
BawkuMunicipal
238,495
286
834
28
9.8%
36
6,625
KassenaNankana
228,113
326
700
65
19.9%
66
3,456
Builsa
94,605
158
599
19
12.0%
20
4,730
Source: GTZ Poverty Mapping Data (2005)
Domestic Water
The major drinking water facilities used in the rural areas of the Upper East region are handdug wells and bore holes. Hand-dug wells can be constructed by the communities themselves
in regions where the water table is high. These wells may or may not be lined and fitted with
pumps. Another water source are shallow wells (up to about 3 meters deep), which are dug in
low lying areas of river banks in the dry season. Shallow wells often involve problems of
pollution from free disposal of human and animal waste, household refuse, leaves and, etc;
Frequently, they also dry up, especially during the dry season.
The major infrastructure investment for drinking water are boreholes, which are drilled by
machines and can be up to 50 meters in depth. Among the water sources in the rural
communities, borehole water appears to be the safest.
Table 4: Availability of Infrastructure for Domestic Water Supply
District
Bore holes
with pumps
Bawku East
Bawku West
Bolgatanga
Bongo
Builsa
Kassena-Nankana
Upper East
573
199
300
155
142
274
1,643
Hand dug wells
with hand
pumps
40
26
40
34
31
36
207
Small Town
Water
Systems
2
2
2
2
2
10
Estimated
coverage
of people
53 %
73 %
39 %
60 %
61 %
54 %
53 %
Source: CWSA (2004)
With donor support, state agencies and NGOs have therefore constructed bore holes in many
communities in the region to improve public health. The drilling of bore holes has decreased
the dependency on less secure water sources, such as wells, streams, ponds, dugouts and dams
(see below) and the harvesting of rain water. As indicated in Table 4, the number of bore
11
holes in 2004 was around 1,600. Another 520 bore holes were under construction at that time.
Most bore holes were financed by the World Bank’s Community water and Sanitation Project.
As Table 4 shows, only half of the population in the Upper East Region had access to safe
drinking water in 2004.
3.2
Research Methods
3.2.1 Interviews with key informants and stakeholders
Interviews with key informants and stakeholders provided a major basis of information for
this report. The interviews were conducted both in the Upper East Region and in Accra. Core
governmental organizations were interviewed first, and a snow ball system was used to ensure
that all major stakeholder groups were identified and included (see Figure 4Error! Reference
source not found.). At least one member of each of the different groups was interviewed. For
governmental organizations with hierarchical organizational structures, the different levels
(national, regional, district, local) were taken into consideration. A list of the interview
partners is provided in Annex 2.
3.2.2 Assessment of Community-level Water Governance and Needs
Two team members (Eva Schiffer and Osman Gyasi) visited 20 local communities and held
focus-group interviews to discuss water related needs and priorities. The communities were
purposely selected with the aim to get an overview of community-level water governance in
the region. 16 of the 20 communities selected had small reservoirs for irrigation, one irrigated
in a dry riverbed, one had pumps for irrigating along the banks of the White Volta river, and
two did not practice any dry season farming at all.. The choice of communities was based on
Osman Gyasi’s survey of water user associations conducted in 2003. The following criteria
were applied to select the communities:
 diverse governance structures (more participatory or authoritarian, with and without
change of leadership)
 productivity (high and low, cash crops and local food)
 accessibility (community close to and far from major roads and markets)
 diverse outside actors involved (governmental actors and NGOs).
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with focus groups. The interview guideline is
attached (see Annex 1). Even though group meetings were intended to be small in order to
avoid rising unrealistic expectations, they turned out to be public events. As the communal
meeting place is normally centrally located, a number of stakeholder meetings grew in size
throughout the discussion. Depending on timing and location, the number of participants of
community meetings ranged from 8 (after the start of the rainy season at a rather remote
meeting point) to more than 50 (before the start of the rainy season at a central meeting point).
The interview partners included the following:
 chief, elders, tindana (traditional authority in charge of land allocation)
 District Assembly man/woman, unit committee members
 WUA (Water Users’ Association of dam)
 WATSAN (Water and Sanitation Committee of boreholes)
 women’s group and other local water users
 local NGO (if existing)
To avoid that only few opinion leaders spoke during the meetings, the group was asked to
split up after some introductory questions in groups of 3-4 to discuss their biggest water
related problems in the community. One speaker was to give feedback to the entire group
afterwards. The interviews were supplemented with observations about general and water
12
infrastructure in the villages and documents collected at the different institutions at the district
and community level.
3.2.3 Workshops and Round Table Discussion
The WRC convened a first Stakeholder Workshop in Bolgatanga in November 2002. In July
2005, the Inception Workshop for the White Volta Basin Board was held in collaboration with
the Integrating Governance and Modeling project and the GLOWA-VOLTA project. During
this workshop, three working group discussions were held on water-related issues, stakeholder
needs and capacity and institutions and governance questions. The preliminary findings of the
governance structure analysis were presented and discussed at a seminar with key
stakeholders held in September 2005 in Bolgatanga.
3.2.4 Secondary information
The available secondary information was reviewed, including studies conducted by the
GLOWA-Volta Project, reports of the IFAD LACOSREP project implemented by the
Regional Office of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), and statistics of
Community Water and Sanitation Agency and the Regional Office of the Ghana Health
Service. Unfortunately, reports on community needs assessment that had been conducted by
several NGOs were not available.
4
4.1
Stakeholders Involved in Water Resources Management
Overview
Figure 4 displays a map of the stakeholders involved in water resources management. Using
the definitions and concepts outlined in Section 2, the stakeholders are classified according to
level (international to local), sector (public sector, private sector, third sector) and major
orientation (developmental, environmental).
4.2
Government Agencies
Regarding the government agencies involved in water resources management, it is useful to
distinguish between the general area administration, and the sector-specific departments and
agencies. To better understand public sector governance related to water resources in the
project area, it is useful to provide a brief general overview of the administrative system in
Ghana.
4.2.1 Overview of the Administrative System
The Ghana public administration system consists of 39 Ministries, Departments and Agencies
(MDAs), around 170 subvented agencies, five statutory funds, 34 state-owned enterprises, 10
Regional Coordinating Councils, 138 District Assemblies, 1306 Zonal / Urban / Town / Area
Councils and 15,386 Unit Committees.
Figure 5 displays the structure of the local government system. The decentralized government
system consists of regions, which are governed by the Regional Coordinating Units, and the
Districts, which are governed by District, Municipal or Metropolitan Assemblies, depending
on their size. The Urban, Zonal, Town or Area Councils constitute the Sub-Districts. The
lowest government level are the unit committees. The decentralization process in Ghana
devolved development planning and decision-making authority to the Metropolitan,
Municipal and District Assemblies (hereafter they are all referred to as District Assemblies).
They were established by the Local Government Act of 1993 (Act 462) with the prime aim to
empower people to participate in the development process and to have access to decentralized
13
services. The Regional Coordinating Council has a coordinating and facilitating role, but no
planning authority of its own.
14
Figure 4: Stakeholder Map
Donors
(World Bank,
IFAD, CIDA,
JICA),
Danida
Ministry of
Food and
Agriculture
Donor-funded
projects
Ministry
of Works
and
Housing
Ministry of
Environment,
Science and
Technology
(MOFA)
Community
Water and
Sanitation
Agency
(CWSA)
MOFA Regional
Office
Regional
Coordinating
Council
Environmental
Protection
Agency
Water
Resources
Commissi
on
White Volta
Basin Office
White Volta
Basin
Management
Board
Irrigation
Development
Authority
National
NGOs
Ghana Water
Company Ltd
International
national
Technical Assistant Teams
(“software” for drinking water)
NGOs in “hardware”, siting
and building of
infrastructure
NGOs in “software”,
community development
etc.
Hydro-geologists for
siting of infrastructure
Regional
Contractors building
infrastructure
District Assemblies
District Administration
Elected /appointed
Members
MOFA District
Offices
District Water and
Sanitation Teams
District
Agric.
Extension
Agents
Livestock
owners
without
access to
dams
Water User
Associations
(Irrigation, livestock,
fishery committee)
Crop farmers no
irrigation
Crop farmers:
River or well
irrigation
Community
Water Boards
/ WATSAN
Committees
Users of
boreholes and
hand dug wells
Local
Users of small
town water
systems
local opinion
leaders, local
NGOs, traditional
authorities, unit
committee
Users
connected to
Ghana Water
Company
Government
agencies with
development
orientation
Government
agencies with
environmental
protection
orientation
Multistakeholder
body
NGOs
Non profit
Private
sector
Communitybased
organizations
and nonorganized
water users
for profit
Legend
International
actors
h
15
Figure 5: Structure of the Local Government System
Regional Co-ordinating Council
Metropolitan
Assemblies
Municipal
Assemblies
District
Assemblies
Zonal Councils
Urban/Town/Area
Councils
Sub-Metro District
Councils
Town Councils
Unit Committees
Source: MLGRD (2005)
The term “District Assemblies” is used to refer both to the legislative and the
administrative branches at the District level. The General Assembly, consisting of elected
and appointed members, constitutes the legislative branch of local government at the
District level. The District Chief Executive, who is appointed by the President, is the
political head of the District. He also chairs the Executive Committee, which comprises
several Assembly members, but not the Presiding Member of the General Assembly. The
General Assembly has a number of Committees and Sub-committees, corresponding to
major sectors such as agriculture, health and education and to general affairs such as
administration and finance, and citizen petitions. The District Coordinating Director is
the administrative head of the District.
The Districts have the authority to raise their own revenues. Following a provision of the
1992 Constitution, they are also entitled to transfers of not less than five percent of the
total revenues of Ghana. These transfers are administered in form of the District
Assembly Common Fund. This Fund is allocated annually to the Districts according to a
formula approved by the Parliament. It has to be spent for investment projects according
to guidelines issued by the Parliament. In addition, funds are also spent in the Districts by
programs and activities of the different sectoral Ministries, and by various donor
programs and NGOs. A typical problem for development planning at the District level is
that these funds are administered separately, so that the Districts do not know the total
amount of funding which will be available per year, even though this figure would be
required for the district-level planning (MLGRD, 2005).
16
For the planning and budgeting process, the District Assemblies receive guidelines for
developing action plans and Medium Term Plans. The guidelines are issued by the
National Development Planning Committee. These guidelines specify that development
priorities should be based on data collected and local level consultations (stakeholder
participation) in conformity with legal, policy and administrative requirements (MLGRD,
2005). Table A1 in the Annex shows how the annual planning and budgeting cycle for
Districts should be organized according to these guidelines. The MLGRD (2005)
assessment shows that, in reality, the Districts are involved in a number of different
planning processes, due to the modalities of different projects.
One of the most important activities in the operations of the District Assemblies is the
procurement of goods, works and services, once the plans are developed and funds are
available (MLGRD, 2005). The procurement procedures are specified in the Public
Procurement Act of 2003 (Act 663), which outlines the structure, methods and tendering
procedures of procurements and the threshold for review/approval authorities. From a
governance perspective, the procurement procedures for large capital investments are
important for an efficient use of development funding.
The sub-district government structure (see Figure 5 above) is also expected to provide
platforms for citizen participation in the planning and priority setting process. However,
this structure has only been implemented to a limited extent, with a focus on tax
collection (MLGRD, 2005).
The major sector Ministries in charge of providing public services have been
deconcentrated, so that considerable authority has been devolved to district-level offices.
The ministries were also decentralized, mandating the district-level officers of the line
agencies to report to the District Administration. As indicated in Table A1 in the Annex,
the district-level sector departments should be fully integrated in the annual planning and
budgeting cycle. However, the implementation of this structural transformation has been
slow, so far (MLGRD, 2005).
4.2.2 District Assemblies
As part of the general administrative system described above, the Upper East District has
eight District Assemblies.2 Their major responsibilities with regard to water resources
management include the following:
(1) Investment decisions: Since the District Assemblies have the authority for
development planning at the local level (see above), the decisions on the investment for
the infrastructure required for drinking water supply (bore holes) and for irrigation (small
dams, dugouts) have to be part of the District Development Plans. This requires a close
coordination with the line agencies in charge (Community Water and Sanitation Agency,
Ministry of Food and Agriculture), and with the funding organizations, which including
international donors as well as NGOs (see below).
2
At the time of this writing, in-depth interviews were held with leading members and water specialists of
three Assemblies, therefore the insights reported here are not necessarily representative of all Assemblies.
However, a comparison with the findings of a review of Local Government Investment and Funding
Practices by MLGRD (Decentralization Secretariat) conducted in all Districts of Ghana (MLGRD, 2005)
shows that the findings are in line with generally observed patterns.
17
(2) Management support: Together with the respective line agencies, the District
Assemblies are in charge of supporting the local communities in managing the infrastructure for domestic water supply and for irrigation. For domestic water supply, the
District administration has formed Water and Sanitation Teams, usually consisting of
three administrative staff members, who are in charge of assisting communities in the
management of domestic water supply. For example, these teams process the applications
of communities for bore holes, and supervise the work of the consultancies contracted to
conduct community training. The establishment of Water and Sanitation teams as part of
the general District Administration appears to be the outcome of a donor-supported
policy decision to develop this specific capacity as part of the general District
Administration. This approach fits into the decentralization policy and into the policy of
implementing a demand-driven community-based rural drinking water supply. In the
research area, this approach was supported by the DISCAP project and the World Bank
Community Water and Sanitation Project (see below).
The administrative staff providing management support for agricultural water supply is
located in the District Offices of MOFA. MOFA has been the major agency in charge of
establishing and rehabilitating small dams under the LACOSREP project, but MOFA
expects the District Assemblies to provide guidance for important aspects of the
management of the small reservoirs. Importantly, the land to be irrigated under small
reservoirs will be registered in the name of the District Assemblies, making them the
formal owners of that land. Mediation of conflicts regarding land use related to small
dams is also seen as a responsibility of the District Assemblies.
(3) Regulatory Functions: The District Assemblies have the authority to pass by-laws
that regulate community affairs. Thus, they play an important role in regulating water
resources use – especially with regard to environmental aspects – especially regarding
those aspects where regulations made at the national level do not exist.
The responsibilities for water resources management at the District level are shared
between the public administration (executive) and the General Assembly of the District
(legislative). The General Assembly has to approve the District Development Plan and
the budget. The interviews held at District level indicate that the Committees or Subcommittees in charge of agriculture and of domestic water supply constitute relevant
platforms for discussing citizen demands, and for coordinating with the line agencies.
The District Director of MOFA is the Secretary of the District Assembly Committee in
charge of Agriculture. The District Assembly members thus have the possibility to
discuss suggestions or complaints of their constituents with the respective line agency
representative.
According to the administrative system described above, the decisions and activities of
the District Assemblies should be supported by the sub-district administrative structure
(see Figure 5). However, the interviews and observations at the community-level implied
that the Unit Committees and the Area Councils do not play a major roles in the
perceptions of the local population. For the management of local affairs, such as settling
disputes, the chiefs (see below) and the elected Assembly members appear to play the
most important role. This question will have to be further investigated through the
household and community survey.
18
4.2.3 Sector-specific Administration / Line Departments
4.2.3.1 Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA)
Regional Directorate and District Offices
The Regional Directorate and the District Offices of MOFA support agricultural
development, including livestock development, in the Upper East Region through various
programs and activities. Providing agricultural and veterinary extension is one of the
most important tasks. The extension agents also provide the major channel for
information flows between MOFA and the farmers. The farmer-extension agent ratio is in
the range of 1:1,500. Subsidies to agricultural inputs have been withdrawn to fulfill
lending requirements of the International Monetary Fund. With regard to water resources
management, MOFA has played a major role by implementing the IFAD-funded
LACOSREP project described below, which supported the construction and rehabilitation
of small dams and promoted irrigated vegetable cultivation.
Addressing major constraints to increased crop production in the Upper East Region,
MOFA also promotes crop diversification, supports the adoption of soil conservation and
water harvesting techniques, and explores new approaches of irrigation. In 2005, the
Regional Directorate started a pilot project of cultivating three crops per year (see details
below).
Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA)
The government authority in charge of irrigation is the Ghana Irrigation Development
Authority (GIDA), a semi-autonomous agency which operates under MOFA. GIDA is
expected to exercise management control over irrigation dams, the associated catchment
areas as well as the drainage of irrigated areas and general water quality, especially
within its project areas. Farmer participation in the management of irrigation projects
started in 1987 with the passing of a legislative instrument, LI 1350, which legalized and
streamlined the GIDA staff management role and incorporated farmer participation in
project management. In the research region, an important task of GIDA is to provide the
technical expertise for the construction of the small reservoirs, which includes both the
design of these reservoirs, and the supervision of the contractors in charge of constructing
or rehabilitating them. The large-scale irrigation system projects are not managed by
GIDA, but by an independent agency (ICOUR, see below).
4.2.3.2 Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA)
CWSA is the core government agency at the regional level concerned with the provision
of portable water to rural communities and small towns. CWSA is in charge of the
National Community Water and Sanitation Program, which was launched in 1994. The
Program aims at sustainable supply of drinking water, following the principles of
community ownership, beneficiary capital cost contribution, private sector participation
and cost-recovery water tariffs. The core donor for this program is the World Bank. Their
major partner in the Districts is the District Assembly and their District Water and
Sanitation Teams. CWSA supervises the provision of boreholes to communities,
following a demand-driven approach. The project cycle of providing drinking water to
communities starts with the sensitization of District Assemblies, NGOs and other
stakeholders like chiefs, local opinion leaders, unit committees and area councils. These
19
are supposed in turn to inform the communities to encourage them to write applications
for facilities to the District Assemblies. To ensure community commitment towards
taking good care of the infrastructure, a community contribution of 5% of the capital
costs is required. A further 5% are contributed by the District Assemblies. After receiving
applications, the District Water and Sanitations Teams go to the communities to assess
the local water problems and to verify that the application was a true community
initiative. Then they hand the proposal to the DA to select communities. The actual
implementation of the provision of drinking water facilities is contracted out to different
private sector enterprises: Consultancies send Technical Assistant Teams, who are
responsible for the community mobilization and training. Hydrological consultants
identify the sites, and contractors do the drilling. The District Water and Sanitation
Teams guide the whole process and are responsible for the monitoring after the Technical
Assistants have fulfilled their contracts.
4.2.3.3 Ministry of Health / Ghana Health Service
The Ghana Health Service is the implementing agency of the Ministry of Health. At the
community level, the Ghana Health Service runs hospitals and health posts in larger
communities, while in the other communities, basic health care (and registry of birth and
death) is undertaken by community health volunteers. The major role of the Health
Service with regard to water resources is the control of water-related diseases. These
include diseases caused by unsafe drinking water such as diarrhea, and diseases caused
by vectors that rely on water, including malaria, schistosimiasis, and elephantiasis.
Guinea worm infections are a problem in the Northern region, but have not been reported
from the Upper East Region. Onchoceriasis has been eradicated in the region. The Health
Service in the Upper East Region collaborated with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture
to investigate the health effects of irrigation systems, especially with regard to
schistosomiasis. The Health Service is also engaged in providing health education on
water related diseases in communities where small reservoirs are constructed or
rehabilitated by MOFA. The health service is also responsible for monitoring the
nutrition situation and providing nutrition education. In the Upper East Region, the
percentage of undernourished children is around one third, which is above the national
average.3
4.2.3.4 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a regional office in the Upper East. The
EPA belongs to the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology and maintains and
enforces standards for wastewater discharge into water bodies. It is also in charge of
conducting Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA). An EPA is required by law for
different types of projects. The construction or rehabilitation of small dams requires an
EIA. The organizations proposing a project have to submit a form, in which they describe
potential environmental impact and their measures to deal with them. Two officers of the
EPA then visit the site to verify the information. If a permit is granted, they also monitor
whether the enterprise acts according to the provisions of the permit. The EPA also
includes a social assessment (overall benefit of the project). An EIA may involve a public
3
Interview with the Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, 08/30/05.
20
hearing, but for small-scale projects such as small dams, no public hearing has to be held.
The EPA takes the approval of the chief and the approval of the District Assembly as
indication of the public opinion into account. EPA is aware that an approval by the chief
may not necessarily represent the opinion of all villagers. This is considered when EPA
visits the site. The head office of EPA also has to approve the requests for permits.
4.2.3.5 Other Government Agencies
Ministry of Fisheries: This Ministry is a new organizational player. Originally Fisheries
was one of the responsibilities of MOFA. The establishment of a Ministry of Fisheries
points at the increased importance of fish for improving food security and income
generation. While the major fishing industry is located in the South of the country (Volta
Lake and coast) there is a tradition of fishing in the rivers of the Upper East Region and
the small as well as the large dams of the region serve as habitat for different fish species.
Department of Cooperatives and Community Development: This Department is
involved in the organizational issues of small dam irrigation. The Department facilitated
the formalization of the Water User Associations (WUAs) as cooperative societies and
provides training to their members. The focus is placed on issues such as group dynamics
and financial management.
Volta River Authority: This authority is responsible for issues related to the production
of electricity through the Akosombo dam built in 1965, which is the major source of
electricity in the country. In the past, severe energy crises have hit the country in times of
drought (e.g. 1998). Because of the water need for Akosombo the Water River Authority
is likely to be critical against all activities that extract serious amounts of water from the
upper river bodies. While the major activities of the Volta River Authority focus on the
South of Ghana, where Akosombo is located, they are concerned with the whole
catchment area of the Volta Lake and have an office in the regional capital of the UER. In
the past they have provided funding and support for environmental projects focusing on
the river and its banks.
Hydrology Department and Meteorological Service: The Hydrology Department of the
Ministry of Works and Housing located in Bolgatanga conducts measurements of the
stream flow of the major rivers in the Upper East and the Upper West regions. There are
currently 11 measurement stations in the two regions. The Hydrology Department does
not collect data on groundwater and is not involved in the testing of water quality. For
specific purposes, the Hydrology Department uses hydrological modeling software. The
Meteorological Service maintains a network of meteorological measurement stations in
the region. The Service cooperates with MOFA, which also maintains measurement
stations and collects data on rainfall.
Research Institutes: The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which
belongs to the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, operates several
research institutes, two of which are important with regard to water resources
management. The Water Research Institute (WRI) was formed in 1996 by merging the
Institute of Aquatic Biology and the Water Resources Research Institute. WRI It has a
mandate to conduct research into water and related resources. Research topics of WRI
that are important for the Upper East Region (though not necessarily conducted in that
region) include research on groundwater resources (availability, quality, quantity), on
21
hydro-meteorological and hydrological data for planning and research, on irrigation
technology, rainwater harvesting, sawah eco-technology for rice production, water
management in valley bottoms for rice production and production of bio-insecticides for
the control of malaria and bilharzia vectors. The Savanna Agricultural Research Institute
(SARI), which is located in Tamale in the Northern Region, conducts research on various
themes that are important with regard to water resources management, such as research
on rainfed and irrigated crop production, on innovations for water harvesting, and on
strategies to improve the productivity of water use in agriculture.
4.2.4 Inter-Departmental Commissions
4.2.4.1 Water Resources Commission (WRC)
The Water Resources Commission (WRC) was established in 1996 by the Water
Resources Act. The creation of this institution was recommended by the Water Resources
Management (WARM) studies supported by major donors (CIDA, DANIDA, DFID,
CfD, GTZ, UNDP and the World Bank.) Prior to the creation of WRC, the management
of the country’s water resources was fragmented among various institutions with no clear
policy for coordination.
The WRC started operations in 1998. It serves as an umbrella organization to coordinate
the different government agencies involved in water management. The Water Resources
Act stipulates that the members of the WRC are representatives of all government
agencies that are involved in water resources management, a member appointed by the
national House of chiefs, and two additional members, one of which should be a women.
Apart from the women’s representative, WRC decided to invite a representative of the
environmental NGOs to serve on the Board. The government organizations include the
following:












Volta River Authority
Ghana Water Company Limited
Irrigation Development Authority
Forestry Commission
Minerals Commission
Water Research Institute
Hydrology Department of the Ministry of Works and Housing;
Meteorological Services Division
Environmental Protection Agency
Organizations producing portable water
Independent Chairperson
Executive Secretary of the WRC
The Water Resource Commission Act declares all water resources to be state property, by
vesting the property and control of the water resources in the President, on behalf and in
trust of the people of Ghana. The Act assigns the responsibility to regulate and manage
the use of water and to co-ordinate all policies regarding water resources management to
the WRC. Accordingly, WRC has the following responsibilities (see Section 2 of the
Water Resources Act):
 to propose comprehensive plans for the utilization, conservation, development and
improvement of water resources;
22
 to initiate, control and co-ordinate activities connected with the development and
utilization of water resources;
 to grant water rights;
 to collect, store and disseminate data or information on water resources,
 to monitor and evaluate programs for the operation and maintenance of water
resources,
 to advise the government on any matter likely to have an adverse effect on the water
resources of Ghana; and
 to advise pollution control agencies on the management and control of the pollution
of water resources.
As can be derived from the list of responsibilities, the major functions of the WRC are
advisory, coordinating and regulatory. The regulatory functions rest specifically with the
mandate of WRC to register and regulate water use rights. This mandate refers to the use
of water for commercial purposes, the use of water for domestic purposes does not need
to be registered under the Water Resources Commission Act.
The Water Resources Commission Act does not specify a decentralized governance
structure, but it allows for the formation of sub-commissions as seen necessary. The
WRC uses this as the legal basis for the development of Basin Boards that are supposed
to implement the functions of the WRC at a lower level. Due to the nature of the matter at
stake, it was decided that these decentralized Boards should not be tied to administrative
boundaries but integrate water governance on a River Basin level. The first pilot Basin
Board was developed in the Densu River Basin. In this area, water pollution problems are
the major challenge. As a second pilot project, the Commission chose the upper White
Volta Basin. Here the importance of a coordinating actor was emphasized because of
cross-boundary water issues, as the White Volta Basin stretches into Burkina Faso and –
to a smaller portion – into Togo. As of September 05, the White Volta Basin Office is set
up in Bolgatanga, and the Basin Board is in the process of being established.
4.2.4.2 Other Commissions
Forestry Commission: This commission is concerned with water resources because of
the value of forest belts for erosion control, and because of the micro-climatic and
hydrological impact of forests.
Minerals Commission: The Minerals Commission is involved in water-related issues
because of the possible averse effects of mining on both quality and availability of water.
Lands Commission: The Lands Commission is in charge of the registration and
administration of land rights. In general, agricultural land has not been registered in the
Upper East Region by individual farmers, expect for large-scale commercial farming
enterprises. MOFA has pursued the approach to register the land resources to be irrigated
by small-scale irrigation schemes in the name of the District Assemblies. Land rights in
Ghana are governed by a variety of different laws (see Section 5.1.1.4 below). Customary
land law and the role of customary authority in land management (stool and skin lands)
are recognized by formal laws and regulations (Ministry of Lands and Forestry, 2003).
The Land Administration Project, which is supported by different donors, is currently
working on a consolidated policy approach towards land management in Ghana.
23
4.3
Traditional Authorities
Ghana is a typical case of “mixed government”, where governance structures based on
customary law and those based on modern law coexist. Institutions based on customary
law have been formally recognized in the Constitution. As Arhin (2002: 1) observes, the
inclusion of customary institutions in the modern Constitution based on the belief that
“public affairs would be better managed if public officials were informed by the value
systems that underpinned Ghana’s indigenous political institutions.” The major
institutions of the representation of traditional authorities in the political system are the
National House of Chiefs and the Regional Houses of Chiefs. Legal regulations also
stipulate that traditional authorities can only engage in political affairs in a non-partisan
way. Traditional authorities do not have a formal representation at the District and subdistrict level. However, they play an important role in managing public affairs at the subdistrict level. This role dates back to colonial times. As in other parts of Africa, the
British practiced a system of indirect rule through traditional authorities. One
consequence of this system is that what is considered today as customary law and
customary institutions is influenced by definitions developed under British colonial rule.
Considering the ethnic diversity of the research region, it is important to note that prior to
colonial rule, two main types of indigenous political systems existed that are important
from a governance perspective: (a) those with obvious rulers, or centralized authority
systems, and (b) those without obvious rulers, or centralized authority systems. The
system with centralized authority is wide-spread among the ethnic groups of the Central,
Eastern, Western and parts of the Northern Regions. However, in the Upper East Region,
the Tallensi, Gurensi, Kusasi and Builsa belong to the second group, which does not have
a traditional centralized authority system (Ahrin, 2002: 4).
A common feature in the Upper East Region is the role of the tindanas or earth priests,
who have a spiritual role. They are responsible for the earth shrine and for the distribution
of agricultural land, considering the spiritual value of land. Hence, they play an important
role for the redistribution of land under irrigation systems, and their signature is crucial to
the new land use agreements. The tindanas are spiritual rather than political leaders of
their communities, and their role co-exists with the role of the chiefs, who were
empowered as political representatives under the British system of colonial rule and have
maintained this role since then.
While the role of the traditional authorities in land management has been researched
since colonial times and is acknowledged by formal law, the role of traditional authorities
for the management of water resources is less clear. The interviews indicated that the
traditional authorities are also in charge of those parts of the rivers and streams that flow
through the land areas they are responsible for. Since irrigation using small reservoirs or
other systems is not a traditional practice in the region, traditional institutions have not
evolved for that purpose.
4.4
Community-level Organizations for Water Resources Management
At the community level, two organizations are central in the management of local water
infrastructure: Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) for small dams, and Water and
Sanitation Committees (WATSAN) for bore holes. The formation of these organizations
24
has been promoted by the respective state agencies (MOFA and CWSA) to implement
the demand-driven community-based approach towards the provision of infrastructure.
For rehabilitated and new dams, MOFA has facilitated the development of Water Users
Associations that are supposed to include all users of the dam: Gardeners, livestock
owners and fisher folk. The original organizational structure of WUAs, as developed by
MOFA, provides for three different sub-associations (see Figure 6). However, in practice,
the gardeners and livestock owners mostly turned out to be the same individuals, so that
mainly only fisher folk have their distinct associations.
The Water Users’ Association (WUA) is the local unit of organization responsible for the
management of the community dams. The users elect a dam site management committee,
which is responsible for the management of the system. WUAs also are elect executive
committees that serve to mobilize community effort for the maintenance of the dam and
irrigation facilities. These include activities for
 the protection of the catchment area of the reservoir to limit siltation;
 sealing of cracks in the dam embankment;
 cleaning and maintenance of the irrigation system including valves, canals and
drains;
 collection of levies for maintenance, and
 conflict resolution.
Figure 6: Organizational Structure of the Water User Associations
WATER USERS’
USERS’ ASSOCIATION
Irrigators‘
Irrigators‘ Association
Association
•Distribution of irrigated land among
irrigators
•Water distribution in irrigated area
•System maintenance
Role of Public Agencies
• Training on technical and
management skills
• Sometimes: credit programs
• “Facilitator”/”Enabler”/
”Motivator” role
• Legal backing
Fishermen‘s
Fishermen‘s Association
Association Cattle
Cattle Owners‘
Owners‘ Association
Association
Damsite Management Committee
•Resettlement
•Resettlement of
of previous
previous farmers
farmers of
of the
the area
area
•Mobilisation
•Mobilisation of
of labor
labor for
for tree
tree planting,
planting, guarding,
guarding, etc.
etc.
•Passing
•Passing and
and enforcement
enforcement of
of bye-laws
bye-laws
•Distribution
•Distribution of
of returns
returns from
from the
the catchment
catchment area
area
Source: Gyasi (2005b)
25
A Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) Committee consists of selected members of the
beneficiary community of one borehole. These committees organize the community in
the process of acquiring a borehole (e.g. collection of the 5% community contribution to
the capital cost of a borehole) and are responsible for maintenance of the infrastructure.
To this aim most WATSAN Committees collect regular maintenance fees from water
users. They organize collective cleaning of the surroundings of the borehole and are
equipped to do minor repairs of the infrastructure.
Maintenance requirements that are beyond the capacities of the WATSAN committee
members are reported to the Water and Sanitation Teams of the District Assemblies. In
the case of the hand dug wells, there are apparently no formal organizations or
committees for their management at the community level. Many of the hand dug wells in
the surveyed communities are privately owned and maintained, although they are
accessible to the entire community. No fees or levies are collected neither are there
formal arrangements for their maintenance. Wells provided by LACOSREP project in
communities where small dams were constructed or rehabilitated are managed by the
WUAs. They have been constructed close to the community dams to provide drinking
water for the irrigators.
Table 5 summarizes the main physical and organizational features of the domestic and
agricultural water supply systems in the surveyed communities (Gyasi, 2005b).
4.5
Donor-funded Projects
The major sources of funding for water-related infrastructure are projects financed by
donor agencies. Such projects are either implemented through the existing administrative
structures, or through the special project implementation units.
4.5.1 Village Infrastructure Project (VIP) and Community-Based Rural Development
Project (CBRDP)
The Village Infrastructure Project (VIP) was a four-year program under the Ministry of
Food and Agriculture, funded by the World Bank aiming at the improvement of rural
infrastructure. While the major focus of the Program was on improving access to roads,
transport, tracks and trails, small credit and markets for the rural poor, the program also
engaged in building boreholes, wind pumps, dams and dug-outs. The activities in the
northern sector (Upper East, Upper West and Northern Region) were coordinated from
Tamale, where VIP has set up an administrative structure that operated independent of
MOFA. VIP came to an end by end of 2004 and is followed by the Community Based
Rural Development Project under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural
Development. This shift to another Ministry was initiated because CBRD is broader than
VIP, and does not only cover agriculture but also schools and education.
In dam construction/rehabilitation, VIP concentrated on the technical aspects. VIP did not
invest in institution-building for the management of the small dams. Therefore, the
development of WUAs was undertaken by MOFA after the dams were finished. The
decision-making for dam development through VIP mainly went through the District
Assemblies.
26
Table 5: Features of Community Water Systems in the Survey Communities
Water
infrastructure
Main construction
features
Decision to provide
the intervention
Role of community
during construction
Deep Wells
• Often lined with cement
walls
• Covered to reduce
pollution
• Some with watering
troughs
• About 1-3 m deep, not
lined and not covered
• Community initiative,
sometimes NGO /
Government
Intervention
• Community contributed
labor and stones
• Community initiative
Bore holes
Hand pumps
• Cemented walls
• Some with Watering
troughs
Government or • NGO
decision in the past
• Now community
demand oriented
approach
Small town
water system4
Dams
Overhead reservoirs
Network of pipes
• Reservoir/dam wall
Control valves
• Spillways
• Canals
• Laterals
• demand-driven
• largely donor funded
• Government at first
(LACOSREP I)
• Demand driven
(LACOSREP II &
NGO dams)
Dugouts
• large excavation /
embankment in low lying
area to harvest runoff
• no water outlet
• Government
• NGOs
Shallow Wells
Operation and
maintenance
responsibility
• Community
Majors uses
• Individual Community
members or small groups
construct shallow wells
independently
• No community
contribution in the past
• Now cash (5% of
construction costs), labor
and other materials (e.g
stones)
• District Assembly
contribution
• Labor and stones (initial
stages of LACOSREP I)
• None (later stages of
LACOSREP I & II)
• Users
• Mainly gardening, wells serve
one or more individual plots
• Domestic uses in some
communities
• Household uses
• Livestock watering
• Home construction
None observed
None observed
• Water and
sanitation
(WATSAN)
committees in
the communities
• Household uses
• Livestock watering
• Home construction
• Gardening in dry season
• WATSAN
• Household uses
• Water Users’
Associations
(WUAs)
• Livestock watering
• Dry season gardening
• Fishing
• Home construction
• Other household uses (drinking
and washing)
• Livestock watering
• Home construction
• Dry season gardening
Source: Adapted from Gyasi (2005b)
4
Only one of the communities visited (i.e., Binduri) has a small town water system but it is out of use. The system has long broken down.
27
4.5.2 Community Water and Sanitation Project
Through the Community Water and Sanitation Project, the World Bank acted as the core
donor for rural drinking water provision through CWSA. The project had the following
objectives:
 Implementing demand-responsive and sustainable water and sanitation services in
rural communities and small towns,
 strengthening the capacity of communities to manage such services,
 strengthening district-level capacity to deliver community water and sanitation
services, including the private sector and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to
deliver goods and services and the capacity of District Assemblies to plan and provide
support to communities; and
 strengthening CWSA’s capacity to effectively play the role as facilitator in the
implementation of the national-level community water and sanitation program”
(World Bank 2005, p. 32)
4.5.3 Land Conservation and Smallholder Rehabilitation Project (LACOSREP)
The Land Conservation and Smallholder Rehabilitation Project (LACOSREP) financed by the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) promoted a wide portfolio of
agricultural support activities in the Upper East Region, including training, agricultural
extension, gender mainstreaming, agricultural credit, water resources development and rural
infrastructure development (see, e.g., MOFA/IFAD, 2003). The first phase of the project
started in 1991 and ended in 1997. The second phase started in 2000 and was officially due to
end in March, 2005, but has been extended to June 2006. LACOSREP is implemented
through a Project Coordination Unit located within MOFA. This project has been the most
important for the rehabilitation and construction of small dams in the Upper East Region.
During the first phase of LACOSREP, 36 small dams and 8 dugouts were
constructed/rehabilitated. The target number for the second phase is 36 dams. During the first
phase, dams were mostly constructed using labor-intensive techniques, based on community
labor and a food-for-work scheme. During the second phase, machinery has been used to
construct the dams. The planning of the dams is conducted in collaboration with the
respective District Assemblies, who are also expected to become the authority in charge of
these dams. This includes settling land disputes related to small dams. Procurement for dam
construction is conducted under the existing procurement system. The Regional Tender Board
has been in charge of the contracts awarded for dam construction.
4.5.4 District Capacity Building Project (DISCAP)
The District Capacity Building Project (DISCAP) is funded by the Canadian International
Development Agency CIDA. This US $7 million project trains and strengthens district
governments and their water-related technical units, together with community-based civilsociety organizations that manage rural and peri-urban water systems (WATSAN and Water
Boards). DISCAP works in 24 districts in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Region.
The project is focused on clarifying and rationalizing institutional relationships among the
regional, district and community structures. DISCAP is working with leaders and specialists
at these three levels to develop a system for operation and maintenance (O&M), revenue
collection, and governance that is consistent with relevant national policies on
decentralization, poverty reduction, water and sanitation, and environmental protection. The
project is implemented by E.T. Jackson and Associates Ltd., an Ottawa-based firm with deep
roots in Ghana, in collaboration with the Ghana-based Gariba Development Associates. This
is an example of private sector involvement at the level of donor-funded projects.
28
4.5.5 Other Donor-Funded Projects
DANIDA Support to WRC: DANIDA is the core funding agency of the Water Resources
Commission of Ghana. In addition to supporting the National Water Resource Commission in
Accra, DANIDA supported the pilot testing of basin boards to allow for a more decentralized
approach to Integrated Water Resource Management. DANIDA places a strong emphasize on
the capacity building of commission members and has one international expert placed in the
WRC headquarters.
Oncho Transboundary Project: After the successful eradication of oncho in the region, this
project concentrates on the socioeconomic development of the now oncho free zones. It is
funded by FAO.
4.6
Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Several NGOs are involved in the agricultural and domestic water sector in the Upper East
Region. Some of them operate from a national or international basis, while others are regional
or even local. The most important NGOs active in the water sector are the following:







Rural Aid (major player in the construction of hand-dug wells with more than 500
wells in the Upper East Region in the last 4 years, with funding from Water Aid and
IFAD)
Action Aid (funding of dam construction)
Red Cross (funding of dam construction)
Catholic Secretariat (funding of dam construction)
World Vision International (construction of bore holes)
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) (funding of bore holes)
TRAX (training in land and water management, funding of boreholes).
The number of small dams funded by the NGOs is comparatively small (less than 10) as
compared to those funded under the LACOSREP project (see above).
4.7
Private Sector
The private sector is involved in a number of activities in the water resources development,
which reflects a general policy trend of the last decade to outsource infrastructure
development and related services to the private sector. In Ghana as elsewhere, this trend was
largely promoted by the World Bank and other international donor organizations.
4.7.1 Technical Assistance Consultancies
Technical Assistance (TA) Teams are contracted by the by the District Assemblies to assist in
the building of community capacity for the management of bore holes. At the time of this
research, there were four private sector consultancies working as TAs in the Upper East
Region:5:
 GAZA consultants;
 Water Vision Technologies;
 IRUDEC (Integrated Rural Development Centre), and
 Pragmatic Outcomes.
These consultancies tend to be formed by former civil servants who worked with a similar
responsibility for the Community Water and Sanitation Agency before these services were
5
Personal communication, Extension Services Specialist of CWSA, Bolgatanga, June, 2005.
29
transferred to the private sector.6 Their responsibilities include community sensitation,
guiding the community to select a committee, to propose locations for boreholes in a mapping
exercise, training the committee on health and sanitation, preventive maintenance, record
keeping and the development of by-laws. The work of the TA is monitored by the District
Water and Sanitation Team. For tendering, these services are advertised in the national print
media, Consultancies express their interest, and a Tender Committee pre-selects companies to
prepare proposals according to defined Terms of Reference. The proposals are evaluated
according to technical aspects, and of those found suitable, the one offering the services at the
lowest prize is assigned the contract. The TA companies are not organized in an umbrella
organization, but do meet informally to exchange ideas and experience.
4.7.2 Hydrological Surveyors
To identify the location for boreholes, the Community Water and Sanitation Agency contracts
the services of hydro-geologists. Taking into account the wishes of the community as
expressed in the mapping exercise with the TA team, they are responsible for the geohydrological siting and the supervision of the drilling. A limited number of companies offer
these services in the Upper East Region. In 2005 the CWSA worked together with only two of
them:
 KDD-Terrax Consulting and
 ZeyPam Consults.
There is no umbrella organization of such companies.
4.7.3 Building Contractors
Contractors are hired both for the provision of domestic and irrigation water infrastructure.
The bidding procedures are the same as described above. Contractors who build or rehabilitate
dams are supervised by GIDA (Ghana Irrigation Development Agency). The contractors
located in the Upper East Region do not own the machinery required to build or rehabilitate
dams so that they have to rent this machinery from companies located in other Regions.
International contractors can also participate in the bidding process, as has happened in the
case of a Chinese contractor who constructed dams in the Upper West region. One GIDA staff
member is assigned to each project and is supposed to visit the site regularly. The contractors
are organized in the Association of Roads Contractors.
4.7.4 Area Mechanics
With the demand-driven approach to the provision of boreholes, the communities and their
WATSAN committees carry out the core responsibility for the maintenance of boreholes. At
least one WATSAN member is trained to do minor repairs on the pump. However, in case that
the repair is beyond the capabilities of the local caretaker, the community can call for outside
help. The area mechanics operate as private sector companies and are paid by the community
out of the funds the WATSAN has collected through maintenance fees.
4.7.5 Ghana Water Company Ltd.
The Ghana Water Company Ltd. is a semi-autonomous company that was transformed from
the state-owned Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation. It is mainly responsible for urban
water supply and serves the drinking water needs of larger cities in the Upper East like
Bolgatanga or Navrongo. The water they distribute is either extracted from bore holes or from
the two large-scale irrigation schemes in the Region, the Tono and Vea irrigation dam. So far,
GWC does not compensate communities or the dam schemes for the water that they extract.
6
Personal communication, Managing Director of one Consultancy, Bolgatanga, September, 2005.
30
4.7.6 Irrigation Company of the Upper East Region (ICOUR)
As indicated above, the Upper East Region has two large-scale irrigation schemes, the Tono
dam near Navrongo and the Vea dam near Bolgatanga. Both were initially fully funded by
Government, but are now supervised by ICOUR, the Irrigation Company of the Upper East
Region, a commercial entity. The company still receives public funds, but the plan is to
reduce the public funding to ICOUR until it can stand on its own. Currently there is only a
loose connection between ICOUR and GIDA, and ICOUR does not report to GIDA.
5
5.1
Potentials and Problems of Water Resources Management and Related
Governance Issues
Water for Agricultural Use
As can be derived from Section 3.1.2, the provision of water for crop production, livestock
and fisheries is of crucial importance for food security and poverty reduction in the area.
According to the analysis conducted thus far, two strategies appear particularly promising to
improve the water supply for agricultural purposes: (1) Small Reservoirs, and (2) Irrigating
areas close to the White Volta River, using pumps, as planned for the “Three Harvests per
Year” Program of MOFA. The potentials and challenges of these two complementary
strategies are discussed in the following in more detail, placing particular emphasis on their
governance dimensions. Other potential strategies are more briefly summarized afterwards.
5.1.1 Small Reservoirs
5.1.1.1 Rationale for increasing the number of small reservoirs
As shown in Table 3, small reservoirs are located in approximately 13 % of the communities
in the Upper East Region. In many cases, several communities have access to the same
reservoir. However, the number of persons per reservoir is rather large, it ranges from 3,450 to
8,110. Even though the number of rural households – or of households engaged in agricultural
production would be a better indicator - this overall figure nevertheless indicates that the
access of people to small reservoirs in the Upper East Region is rather limited. According to a
study of 28 small reservoirs conducted by MOFA/LACOSREP in 2003, an average of 170
persons practiced gardening on land irrigated by a small reservoir. The average size of land
irrigated by a small dam was 8.5 ha, which results in an average cultivated area per gardener
of 0.05 ha. The main crops grown were onion, tomato, pepper and leafy vegetables, and the
net benefit of crop production was Cd. 540,000 per gardener (approx. 50 US$), or Cd.
91.3 million per small reservoir (LACOSREP, 2003). While these figures may not be
representative and biased due to major disease problems occurring in that year, they
nevertheless indicate that the number of small dams would have to increased considerably in
order to contribute to broad-based agricultural growth and poverty reduction. This statement
remains valid, if one takes into account that the small reservoirs also provide water for
livestock and fishery. The number of households that use small dams for watering livestock
during the dry season may be larger than that of those using irrigated water for gardening. The
number of fishermen that benefit from a small reservoir is in the range of 20. The visited
communities that did not have a small reservoir emphasized the need to water livestock during
the dry season as most important reason for getting access to a small reservoir.
5.1.1.2 Challenges of increasing the number of small reservoirs
The possibilities of increasing the number of reservoirs depends on the hydrological and
socio-economic feasibility of this strategy.
Hydrological challenges
31
From a hydrological perspective, the question arises as to from which number onwards there
will be competition for water within the network of small reservoirs, and from which number
onwards there will be negative downstream effects in the White Volta River. Answering these
questions requires hydrological research and modeling. According to expert opinions,
hydrological factors are likely only become a constraint in case of a massive increase beyond
the current number of small reservoirs.7 At present, the socio-economic challenges appear to
constitute a more binding constraint.
Socio-economic challenges
Even though data that would make a cost-benefit analysis of small reservoirs possible were
not available at the time of writing this report, the available figures suggest – under the current
management practices - the returns to investing in a small reservoir are comparatively low,
which constitutes a major challenge for expanding their number. According to
MOFA/LACOSREP figures, the average cost to construct a small reservoir in 2003 was
Cd. 1.3 billion, and the cost of rehabilitation was Cd. 885 million. These figures only cover
the contracts awarded to the companies constructing the dams, it does not include the labor
contribution of the communities (which is supposed to be in the range of 5 % of the value of
the dam under the system practiced in the LACOSREP II period). The figure does not include
any transaction costs either. These would include the administrative costs of planning and
supervising the construction of the dams incurred by GIDA, the costs invested in capacity
building at the community level (formation of WUAs, training of WUA members, etc.), and
the costs of negotiating the land rights and registering the land.
According to the MOFA/LACOSREP study quoted above, the net benefit from gardening the
land irrigated by a small reservoir was approximately 90 million per small reservoir. The net
benefit of fishing is estimated to be in the range of Cd. 50 million per reservoir. Together, the
net benefit created by this usage per year corresponds to approximately 11 % of the
construction costs quoted above. These rough figures indicate that small reservoirs would
have to be in use without the need for rehabilitation for a period considerably longer than
10 years in order to become a profitable investment. Another strategy would be to increase the
agricultural productivity on the land irrigated by the small reservoirs. The evidence from the
research undertaking so far, and the insights from other sources, however, suggests that there
are considerable challenges of maintaining the small reservoirs at the community-level as well
as to improving crop productivity. Moreover, it appears to be a considerable challenge to
construct the dams in such a way that they are well-functioning. Both problems have
important governance dimensions, which are discussed below
Challenges of dam construction
In terms of the local economy, constructing small dams constitutes a comparatively large
infra-structure investment. Just to provide a figure for comparison, the annual total budget of
the District Kassena-Nankana is Cd. 40 billion per year, and the total amount of local taxes
collected by the District is in the range of Cd. 700,000 per year. As indicated above, the
construction of a single small reservoir, not including transaction costs, is in the range of
Cd. 1.3 billion. The interviews with various stakeholders and the community visits suggest
that the construction of small reservoirs is confronted with the typical problems of large-scale
infrastructure investment. A certain “leakage” may occur during the tendering process, which
reduces the funds that are actually available to the contractor for dam construction. There are
no companies located in the region that have the machinery and ample expertise to construct
small reservoirs. Contractors located in the region have to rent the machinery at considerable
7
Statements made during a Seminar in Bolgatanga organized by the Integrating Governance and Modeling
Project on September 9, 2005.
32
costs from other companies located in Southern regions of the country. This situation has led
to considerable delays in the construction and rehabilitation of small reservoirs under the
LACOSREP project, and a considerable proportion of contracts had to be re-awarded to other
contractors due to performance problems.
In those cases, where the construction or rehabilitation of the small reservoirs was completed,
complaints by the communities regarding the quality of the work was frequent. In particular,
there are marked differences in perception regarding the appropriate strategy of dam
rehabilitation. In all of the visited communities with a dam, the common opinion was that
dredging should be used to desilt the dam. In contrast, the strategy of MOFA/GIDA is to raise
the dam walls, because this increases the live storage capacity8, while dredging mainly
increases dead storage. One reason for this difference in perception may be due to the fact that
dead storage capacity is valued by the communities for watering livestock and for fishing.
Other complaints regarding dam construction mentioned during the community visits refer to
the design of the dam, and to problems regarding the construction of the irrigation channels.
The community visits also indicated that the number of small reservoirs that cannot be used
every year for crop cultivation may be rather high. Of 16 visited communities that had a small
reservoir which was either constructed or rehabilitated in recent years, only 7 communities
cultivated the full area designed for irrigated cultivation, 4 cultivated a part of the area, and 5
did not irrigate any land at all in the previous season (2004/2005). Lack of water was the
reason in all cases. It is an important task for future research to analyze to which extent these
figures are representative, and whether low performance is due to problems of dam
construction, due to problems of maintenance, or due to hydrological and climatic conditions.
Distribution of small reservoirs
Since small reservoirs represent a major infra-structure investment that is limited to selected
communities, the question which communities will benefit from this investment is a major
issue. As indicated above, in the construction and rehabilitation of small dams, MOFA is the
major governmental actor. While a number of dams have been constructed or rehabilitated by
other actors, the LACOSREP program reached the highest number of communities in the
Upper East Region. The procedures for selecting beneficiary communities were changed
between the first and second phase of the project. In the first phase the project the
beneficiaries were mainly chosen by MOFA according to project criteria. In line with a
general orientation towards a more demand-driven approach, communities have to apply to
the District Assembly for the rehabilitation of their dam, or the construction of a new dam.
They also have to collect a contribution to the capital costs. Accordingly, making decisions on
the approval of community applications for dams should be part of the annual planning and
budgeting cycle of the Districts. MOFA/GIDA is involved in providing technical expertise in
the process. Even though coordination with Sector Departments is well integrated into the
guidelines for District planning and budgeting (see Table A1 in the Annex), the interviews
indicated that the proposed approach is not fully implemented. Hence, the criteria for the
decision about beneficiaries as well as the bargaining power of the different actors involved
have proved to be difficult to assess. Political factors are likely to play an important role in the
decision-making process. To identify how current formal and informal decision-procedures
affect the efficiency and equity of allocating small reservoirs remains a task for future
research.
8
The live storage capacity of a small reservoir is the amount of water that can be used for irrigation, while the
dead storage capacity is the amount of water that remains in the dam due to the fact because of its location below
the outlet.
33
5.1.1.3 Problems of management and maintenance
Problems of management and maintenance of the small reservoirs are not only a challenge for
expanding the number of small dams, they are also affecting the capacity of the already
existing infrastructure to promote well-being and contribute to poverty reduction. The
problems of maintaining small reservoirs – which is primarily the responsibility of the
communities – have been recently analyzed in a study by Osman Gyasi (Gyasi 2005c). He
included all small reservoirs in the Upper West and Upper East that were managed by a WUA
and that did cultivate in the year 2003/4 in his study. Therefore, his results probably refer to
the better managed small reservoirs in the region. He found that the maintenance of the small
reservoirs differed considerably among communities. The following factors had a significant
positive effect on the quality of maintenance: training of the WUA members, strong rules
enforced by the WUA (paying fines, forfeiting plots as strongest fine), ethnic homogeneity
and profitability. The size of the WUA and incidence of water poaching had a significant
negative influence. The resistance of former land owners to redistribute the land had a
negative impact, too. Market access and a higher shadow wage labor wage reduced the
participation of households in collective maintenance (Gyasi, 2005b, c). This analysis
suggests that strategies to improve training and to raise the productivity of agricultural
production have the potential to improve the maintenance of small reservoirs, thus
contributing to the sustainability of this strategy. The analysis also suggests that placing small
reservoirs in communities that have high opportunity costs of labor is not a viable strategy.
5.1.1.4 Land Tenure Issues
The analysis of the maintenance of small reservoirs points to role of land tenure as an
important influencing factor. Land tenure is also important with regard to small reservoirs as
it influences the distributional implications of this development strategy.
Land tenure in Ghana is extremely complex. There are over 80 formal legal instruments
regulating land tenure, some of which are contradictory. They co-exist with various forms of
customary land tenure. (Ministry of Lands and Forestry, 2003). Likewise, the institutions in
charge of land administration are manifold. In spite of the decentralization, central
government agencies, especially the Lands Commission is in charge of land administration
(see above). Traditional authorities – the Chiefs and the tindanas – are also recognized by
modern law as institutions in charge of land management.9
As indicated above, the local customary authority overlooking land issues in Northern Ghana
is the tindana, the traditional earth priest (see above). Local farmers have “family land”:
While they do not own this land in a legal way and cannot sell it, they do have secure usufruct
rights to this land, which can be inherited within the family. In the Upper East Region, land
has only been registered by large commercial enterprises. In those cases, the land formally
remains property of the state, and is leased for a period of up to 99 years. The Lands
Commission is in the process of registering the land to be irrigated by small reservoirs in the
name of District Assemblies. The costs of land administration are rather high (more than
Cd. 1.5 million per acre).10
What is important for the small reservoirs is the fact that the land use differs considerably
between the dry and wet season, which results in two different property regimes for the two
seasons. In the wet season, the original landowner’s family continues to practice rain-fed
agriculture on the family land. For dry-season farming, a re-distribution of land is practiced.
9
The Town and Country Planning Offices of the District Assemblies are involved in land administration, too, but
their activities, so far, are mostly limited to urban planning.
10
Personal communication with representative of the Lands Commission, Bolgatanga, September, 2005.
34
The areas under irrigation are divided into smaller parcels so that a larger number of people
has access to the more work and capital intensive dry season gardening. The institutional
arrangements for distributing plots for the dry season vary amongst communities and most
remarkably between formal and informal irrigation schemes.
In the case of the small reservoirs, LACOSREP/MOFA pursued the following approach: In
the process of dam construction or rehabilitation all local stakeholders should come together
and agree on the property rights at the irrigation site. The landowners with land in the future
irrigable area sign an agreement to hand their land rights for the dry season over to the Water
User’s Association (WUA). The WUA is then supposed to distribute the land amongst its
members. At the end of the dry season, the original landowners take over again to proceed
with rainfed agriculture. The agreement is signed not only by the landowners but also by
traditional authorities, assembly members and persons that are referred to by government
agencies as “local opinion leaders.” No compensation is paid to the original landowners.
While the WUA does not collect direct land use fees, it does collect fees for the use of
irrigation water, often linked to the size of plot a gardener cultivates.
The community visits indicate that this institutional set-up has not been implemented for all
small reservoirs. In some cases the original landowners also use the land in the dry season. In
others the land is distributed by the landowners and they receive some kind of fee (cash or
kind) from the gardeners. In a small number of dams the land was permanently handed over to
the WUA, and WUA members farm it in the dry as well as wet season.
Regarding the role of women, “project law” appears to add another dimension to the
pluralistic legal system. MOFA/LACOSREP actively promoted the access of women to
irrigated land. In the customary land use system of the region, women usually only have
indirect land rights. They access land through a male member of the family. The only
exception here are female headed households. In case of the small reservoirs, WUA members
get access to land as individuals, with women having the same rights as men. In the
communities visited, the WUAs typically had about as many male as female members. Some
women did complain, however, about getting less attractive parcels of land (less fertile,
further away from the dam wall), getting smaller plots or being excluded in case of water
scarcity. However, a general observation was that the land rights at the dam sites improved the
bargaining power of women.11
5.1.1.5 Health Issues
According to information from MOFA and the Regional Office of the Health Service, the
most important health problem directly related to the small dams is schistosomiasis. The
knowledge of the local population regarding this disease appears limited, and MOFA has
collaborated with the Health Service to conduct a baseline study in some communities that
received a small reservoir, as well as to promote health education.
Other water-related diseases that are increased by the dams are malaria and elephantiasis. The
major preventive approach is to distribute bed nets at subsidized prices, especially to pregnant
women. However, there seem to be problems of adoption, which may be related to the hot
climate and the related discomfort of using bed nets.
In case that the water in small reservoirs is used for drinking, diarrhea and other health
problems may occur. The approach to deal with this problem is the construction of wells in
communities with small reservoirs. The costs of preventing and mitigating water-related
11
Personal communication with GLOWA researchers and members of the IFAD/LACOSREP Evaluation
Mission.
35
diseases need to be included in the assessment of a scenario to expand the number of small
dams.
5.1.2 Large-scale Irrigation Systems
As indicated above, ICOUR is in charge of the management of the Tono and the Vea
Irrigation Schemes. The two schemes are the largest irrigation schemes in the country. Tono
was constructed between 1975 and 1985 and has a potential irrigable area of 3,800 ha, of
which 1,500 ha are currently used. About 6,000 farmers in nine villages benefit from the
scheme. Vea was constructed in 1965, and has a potential irrigable area of 2,000 ha, of which
1,200 ha are used. About 2,000 farmers in nine villages benefit from this scheme. The main
crops are cereals (millet, sorghum) and legumes (soybean, cowpea) on the uplands, and rice
on the lowlands. Tree planting on non-irrigable areas is promoted. These figures indicate that
there is a considerable potential to expand the cultivation of irrigated crops within these
schemes. According to the interviews with the ICOUR management and the farmers, the
constraints to be overcome to pursue this strategy appear to be a combination of institutional,
technical and economic problems.
As for the small reservoirs, the farmers cultivating land in the large-scale irrigation schemes
are organized in Water User Associations. About 56 of them are registered with ICOUR and
some under the Cooperatives Department. They form village committees, which cooperate
with the project management, e.g., with regard to land distribution. The WUAs are
responsible for cleaning the canals and distributing the water. This decentralized management
approach is, however, relatively new. It was introduced in early 2000.
There are farmers with permanent land allocation, but because of withdrawals and other
reasons, a considerable amount of land is allocated on a yearly basis. In Tono, the land which
is not taken by the villagers in the nine villages is given to contract farmers, who are usually
people from town, such as civil servants and teachers. About 5 % of the land is given out
under this contract farming system. In the Vea dam, there is a serious conflict between
drinking water and water for irrigation, especially in dry years such as the current year.
Priority is given to drinking water, and only 300 ha of land was cultivated in 2004.
The water levies are an important issue in the large-scale irrigation schemes. A meeting is
held for this purpose, in which the representatives of the village committees, the District
Assemblies, the chiefs, the Regional Coordinating Council and the ICOUR management
participate. The management presents and justifies their proposal. Currently, the water fee for
tomato is Cd. 370,000 per ha, and for rice Cd. 250,000 for the dry season farming. For the wet
season, there is a flat rate of Cd. 160,000 per ha. of irrigated land independent of the type of
crop. The fees have to be paid in advance, which may restrict the access of poor farmers to
irrigated land. In some cases, where farmers receive water even though they have not paid,
e.g., because of the location of their fields, they have to pay at the end of the season. They can
also pay in kind, but this is an exception. Farmers who did not settle debts with the irrigation
management usually do not receive water for the next season. The irrigation project has to
cover all costs by the user levies, except for the salary of the staff members which are paid by
the central government. The village committees assist in collecting the fees. Since the
irrigation works were constructed more than 20 years ago, the costs for renovation, e.g., of the
canal system, are very high. Sometimes, the Ghanaian government provided funds to restore
damaged canals. The main canal has a length of 26 km. Restoration of 1 km costs Cd. 1.6
billion. A proposal has been submitted to NEPAD for funding, and other funding sources are
also being considered. These figures indicate that – just as for the small reservoirs –
considerable public investment is required to expand the area that can be cultivated under
irrigation in these schemes.
36
A major problem is the marketing of the crops, especially perishable products such as tomato.
The farmers are affected by the high price fluctuations. In case of soybeans, the influx of
cheap soy cake from the international market makes it difficult for farmers to compete. The
project tries to increase the value added. There is a rice mill operated by the project, but there
is no de-stoner and grading machine so no premium quality rice can be marketed. Another
major problem is the decline in paddy yields. While farmers earlier harvested 5.5 tons/ha, the
yields are now in the range of only 3 tons/ha (still above the average of the Upper East
Region). One reason is that farmers use less inputs due to deteriorating price relations. A
study showed that in 1992, a farmer had to sell 3.3 bags of rice to cover his input costs. In
2004, he has to sell 9.3 bags. Pest problems are also severe, mostly due to continuous farming
on the same piece of land. The WUAs who are registered as cooperatives have the
possibilities to get IFAD loans through the rural banks. However, the loans are often provided
too late to buy the inputs in time.
A company from Israel visited the irrigation scheme. They suggested the cultivation of
cucumber and green pepper for export, and also thought about a processing plant. However,
the plans have not materialized, so far.
Environmental problems are not prevalent, so far. WRI takes water samples every two years,
so far no problems of siltation and pollution have been detected. No trend of declining water
resources has been observed. In 2000, a flooding occurred. In general, however, pesticide use
in the White Volta basin is considered to be a problem. MOFA promotes Integrated Pest
Management and trains farmers in using the neem technology.
As in the case of the small reservoirs, health problems are rather severe, including malaria,
elephantiasis and bilharzia. The Navrongo Health Research Center provides subsidized
mosquito nets to the households. Children are advised not to bath in the canals. A proposal for
improvement in the Health sector has been submitted to WHO for funding.
The land tenure situation in the large-scale irrigation schemes is complex, too. Formally, the
land is state property, and it is rented out to farmers on a five years’ contract basis. In case of
the Tono scheme, the chief of Navrongo still considers the land as his land, but he publicly
stated that he has given the land to ICOUR to manage it, and that nobody should claim
individual ownership of the land. In the Vea Irrigation Scheme, land tenure is more contested,
because the farmers there want to sublet the land to people from town. ICOUR promotes the
access of women to irrigated land. A GLOWA study found that women have more problems
to access land that is managed by WUAs (village committees) than to the land that is still
directly managed by ICOUR. The interviews also indicated that after the introduction of the
multi-party system in the early 1990s, party politics started to influence land and water
distribution.
5.1.3 Irrigation along the White Volta Using Pumps
5.1.3.1 MOFA’s Three Crops per Year Program
In 2005, the MOFA Regional Directorate conducted a successful field trial of growing maize
as a third crop per year by pumping water from the White Volta for irrigation. The average
yield was 3.7 tons per ha, compared to a national average of 2.5 tons and a regional average of
less than 1.2 tons. Irrigation is certainly a major factor for this yield difference.
Characteristics of the system
The plan is to plant one vegetables crop and one maize crop during the dry season, and one
cereals crop during the rainy season. To avoid siltation, the cultivation should start at a
distance of 100 m from the river bank. The water is pumped out of the White Volta for this
distance, and then gravity irrigation is used to irrigate the fields, taking advantage of the
37
sloping landscape. The 100 m stripe should be planted to economic trees such as cashew and
mango to provide an income. Where this area is not deforested yet, the forest should be
protected. The Forestry Department and Agro-forestry NGOs could get involved in finding
out which tree species are feasible and profitable.
For the Fulani herdsmen, corridors should be provided so that the animals have access to the
river. It is also planned to find out whether the water used for irrigation can be recollected and
used for watering animals in drinking troughs. For maintaining soil fertility, animal manure
could be used, and the crop residues from maize, perhaps treated with urea, could be used as
animal feed. At present, large areas that are suitable for this system are burnt every year.
Potential
Field days with District Directors, District Assembly members and farmers were conducted to
convince them of the feasibility of growing three crops per year. Since the feasibility of this
system could be demonstrated, is now planned to expand the program to 2,000 ha next year.
MOFA estimates total area to be planted under this system is 10,000 ha (for comparison, one
would need around 1,000 small reservoirs to irrigate the same area).
In the trial conducted in 2005, the net benefit was Cd. 4.0 million/ha from the maize crop.
While this return is lower than that of vegetable gardening, one has to consider that this is an
additional income, to be added to the income from one rainfed crop and one vegetable crop.
The system of planning a maize belt along the White Volta could also contribute considerably
to improving the food security in the region. One major advantage of this system is that –
unlike small reservoirs and large-scale irrigation schemes - it does not require a large capital
investment. The cost of a pump is Cd. 14 million and that of the pipes is Cd. 3 million.
Approximately 10 farmers could irrigate an area of 4 – 6 ha using one pump. The limitation of
this system is that the option exists only along the White Volta River, which crosses four of
the eight Districts in the Upper East.
Questions to be evaluated
There are a number of questions that need to be evaluated in order to assess the feasibility of
this system:
 Hydrological and agronomic issues
o Hydrology
 How much water can be extracted before downstream effects become a
problem? What is the water productivity as compared to other systems?
o Meteorology
 What are the effects on the micro-climate?
o Soil fertility
 Where are the soils suitable for this program?
 What are the options for soil fertility management?
o Livestock production
 Is it possible to use irrigation water for livestock watering?
o Agro-forestry
 Which tree species suitable to be planted along river bank
o Environmental management
 How can water pollution with pesticides and chemical fertilizer be
avoided?
 Economics / Social science issues
o What are promising strategies to negotiate the land rights with current land owners
and livestock keepers?
38
o How can access to credit be organized, considering that the proposed system is
input-intensive (incl. the costs of running costs the pump)
o Which marketing strategies are available to avoid a break-down of the maize
prices (such as selling fresh maize, using maize in school feeding programs, etc.)
o What are the distributional implications of the proposed program?
5.1.3.2 Existing Practices of Using River Water for Irrigation
Since the eradication of river blindness, the use of land along the river banks of the White
Volta Basin for irrigated farming appears to have increased considerably. Unlike in the
planned MOFA program, farmers who already use pumps for extracting water from the White
Volta and other streams plant crops directly on the river banks. This has caused major
problems of siltation, as well as pollution with insecticides. Even though legal regulations
preventing this practice exist, it has been difficult to enforce them. Solutions for this problem
that were discussed at the Inception Workshop of the White Volta Basin include the
following: the demarcation of endangered zones, educational activities, the involvement of
traditional authorities and the District Assemblies in enforcement and the provision of
alternative income strategies for the farmers involved.
5.1.4 Irrigation with Shallow Wells in Dry River Beds
Irrigation using shallow wells in dry river beds is another irrigation strategy, in which state
agencies have not been involved, so far (informal irrigation). To which extent these schemes
can be expanded is a question for hydrological/agronomic research. Land tenure in these
schemes is organized as follows: Many farmers irrigate their own family land. However, nonlandowners can also get a plot in these areas for the dry season. They ask permission of the
landowner and normally arrange for some kind of compensation, either in cash or in kind. In
some cases the only requirement was that the gardeners prepare (plough) the land for rainfed
agriculture before handing it over.
5.1.5 Irrigation Using Ground Water
GIDA is exploring the possibilities to use ground water irrigation in the three Northern
Regions. However, there seems to be an agreement among the agencies involved in water
resources management in the Upper East Region that this strategy should not be pursued there
due to limitations in ground water resources and possible competition ground water use for
domestic purposes.12
5.1.6 Soil Conservation and Water Harvesting
MOFA has been promoting methods for soil conservation and water harvesting, such as the
construction of stone bunds, to address the water shortage and soil fertility problems, which
are the major constraints to rainfed crop production in the area. The expansion of this strategy,
and its hydrological implications, might be another scenario to be modeled. The labor
intensity of such systems may be the major constraint for this strategy. As for other
development strategies, this approach is only promising if the return to labor is higher than the
opportunity cost – which is largely influenced by the possibility to migrate to the South and
find employment there (Most migrants from the North find unskilled temporary employment,
but their earnings are often still much higher than the minimum wage of around
Cd. 17,000/day).
Discussion at the seminar orgaized by the “Integration and Modeling” Project in Bolgatanga on September 9,
2005.
12
39
5.1.7 Water for Livestock Production and Fishery
The community visits indicate that the availability of water is a major constraint for
expanding livestock production. Considering the agro-climatic conditions, livestock
production may have a higher development potential than crop production. Likewise, the
economic potential for fish production (aquaculture) in the region could be rather high. So far,
small reservoirs and dugouts – which involve the challenges discussed above – have been the
major strategy to provide water for livestock and for fisheries. It might be useful to explore
whether other options exist to address the water constraint for livestock production, and to
provide water resources for aquaculture.
Regarding existing fishing practices in the rivers and streams of the Upper East, negative
effects on water resources due to the use of chemicals for fishing have been reported. As for
other water pollution problems, lack of law enforcement, rather than lack of legal regulations
is considered to be the major constraint in this regard.
5.2
Domestic Water
5.2.1 Problems of Water Quantity
As indicated above (Table 4), only half of the population in the Upper East has access to safe
drinking water yet. Hence, there is an obvious need to expand the infrastructure for drinking
water supply to reach the goal of safe drinking water for the entire population.
The community visits also indicate that the availability of drinking water is a serious problem
during the dry season, even if bore holes have been provided. In the visited communities, the
availability of drinking water during the dry season was perceived as a more serious problem
than the availability of water for agricultural production. The community visits were
conducted towards the end of the dry season, which provided direct insights into this problem.
All visited communities experienced shortages of drinking water. Many of the hand-dug wells
were dried up. Out of 17 communities with bore holes, 16 reported the problem that the
boreholes were not sufficient, and that women had to walk long distances to get to water
points. All but one community described violent fights among the women fetching water,
sometimes leading to injuries. Such incidents typically occur when a women does not follow
the queue. In some places, the conflicts had to be settled by WATSAN committees, husbands
or village elders. The only community where no such incidents were reported had no central
water points like boreholes, but relied on a larger number of hand-dug shallow wells. The
time that women spend fetching water was described as a serious problem, especially since it
even reduces the time available for cooking and providing food in time before children go to
bed.
The interviews with stakeholders indicate that there seem to be different views regarding the
extent to which boreholes will dry up during the dry season, and to which extent this problem
depends on finding the correct location for the bore hole. There is agreement that many of the
hand dug wells established in the 1990s (reported in Table 4 above) have become low
yielding and do not provide water all year round (CWSA, 2004).
5.2.2 Expanding the number of bore holes
Since providing access to safe drinking water for the entire population in the Upper East
requires a considerable expansion of bore holes, the question arises from which number
onwards there will be hydrological limitations regarding the long-term sustainability of
drinking water supply in the region. Research on ground water, financed by Canadian donors,
is currently ongoing in the Upper East region. What is also unclear – and a question for
hydrological research – is to which extent expanding the number of bore holes in a
40
community would address the problem of water shortages during the dry season, and whether
alternative strategies exist to address this problem.
As in the case of small dams, the management of the boreholes is important for the long-term
sustainability of the infrastructure. However, the management challenges are less pronounced,
since land tenure problems are not involved. The information derived from the community
needs assessment was that community members were familiar with the approach used by the
CWSA to establish the bore holes. The sample of communities visited included those that had
started collecting funds for their contribution to the capital cost, those that had already sent
applications to their District Assembly, and those that had already received boreholes through
this program. Some communities complained that their application and contribution had not
led to any drilling activity even though the application was made a number of months ago.
According to the information of the CWSA, the cost of constructing a bore hole, including the
costs incurred for community training, are in the range of Cd. 80 million. The contribution of
the communities is 5 % of the capital cost (not including all other costs) and amounts to Cd.
2 million per bore hole. The Regional Director of CWSA listed the following criteria for the
prioritizing communities in need of boreholes or wells:
 Current status of water availability;
 Prevalence of water borne diseases;
 Sanitation situation;
 Accessibility of water;
 Population density (The standards are that a borehole should serve 300 people,
a well 150).
The community visits as well as the stakeholder interviews indicated that the management of
the bore holes and pumps by the WATSAN committees is, in general, functioning well, apart
from the conflicts arising in the dry season described above. The fees to be paid for the
maintenance of the system were not considered to be too high or exclusionary for the poor
people in the communities. It was reported that some people refused to pay, but not for
poverty reasons. They were then excluded from using the bore holes. There were no reports
during the community visits regarding problems of maintaining of the infrastructure.
However, these impressions have to be corroborated by the household and community survey.
Moreover, the community-based approach towards borehole management is rather new – and
largely state- and donor-driven - so that conclusions concerning the long-term sustainability of
the approach are difficult to draw at this point. One has to consider that a considerable amount
of resources (approximately in the same range as is spent for capital investment) is invested in
community training and capacity building. It is unclear whether and to which extent retraining
and follow-up will be required to make the approach sustainable.
5.2.3 Problems of Water Quality
People that rely on streams, shallow wells and other open water sources for drinking usually
face problems of water quality and related health problems. As indicated above, bore holes are
the major strategy to provide access to safe drinking water. Testing of the water from bore
holes is part of the standard procedure of the companies in charge of the drilling. In some
cases, an NGO providing bore holes collaborated with the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to test the water. EPA also conducted a survey of the water quality of all major water
systems in the Upper East. Polluting activities close to drinking water resources constitute a
problem for drinking water quality. In some communities in the Bongo District, the high
fluoride content (above WHO-recommended levels) of the water resources constitutes a
problem, which forced CWSA to seal bore holes. This caused resistance on part of the
respective communities. A technical solution to the problem still has to be tested and
implemented.
41
Regarding the quality of drinking water, the community visits revealed a rather mixed picture,
depending on the infrastructure they have. While in five communities the quality of drinking
water was not seen as a concern, in those communities where it was problematic, different
pollutants were named (mud, worms, ants, chloride etc.).
5.3
Industrial Water Use
Even though the domestic water supply, water for crop and livestock production and fisheries
are the major water uses in the White Volta Basin, there are other uses that may also cause
concern. In particular, the use of water for mining and gold washing is reported to have
negative effects on water resources. Technical solutions to reduce water pollution caused by
gold washing are possible, but they may not be economically attractive, even if they are
subsidized.13
The development of the industrial and services sector in the Upper East Region may also
increase the demand for industrial water and require appropriate regulation. The food
processing industry and the tourism sector may be the first types of industry that will gain
importance regarding water use in the future. The stakeholder interviews showed that expert
opinions differ regarding the development potential of handicraft in the region. To some
extent, the handicraft sector may have implications for water use and pollution, for example
with regard to leather production. In general, considering the location and the development
stage of the region, it is most likely that the agricultural sector will remain to be the major
water user in the White Volta Basin in the short and medium term.
5.4
Implications for Modeling
Based on the issues identified in the preceding three sub-chapters, different scenarios can be
identified, to which the modeling tool to be developed by the “Integrating Governance and
Modeling” project can be applied. Table 6 outlines these scenarios and summarizes the
hydrological, economic and governance issues that could be addressed by the decisionsupport tool to be based on the model.
These scenarios will be further discussed with different stakeholders, who may alter these
scenarios and add additional ones. The stakeholders may also further specify these scenarios.
For example, quantitative targets could be set, such as reaching a coverage of 80 % of the
population with safe drinking water, or reaching the highest impact on poverty reduction with
a given amount of investment, etc. Stakeholders could also provide information regarding the
feasibility of different assumptions, and the reliability of the parameters to be used for the
modeling. Importantly, different stakeholders should be able to contribute the criteria that they
consider important for the evaluation of the different scenarios. It is envisaged to organize the
stakeholder consultation for the development of the decision-support tool in close
collaboration with the White Volta Basin Board. The next chapter discusses the potentials and
options of stakeholder coordination under the leadership of the White Volta Board.
13
Findings of a Working Group during the Inception Workshop of the White Volta Basin Board, Bolgatanga,
June, 2004.
42
Table 6: Possible Scenarios for Modeling
Scenario
Expanding the
number of
small
reservoirs
Hydrological and
agronomic issues
Governance Issues
For different climate change
scenarios:
 Identifying the number of
small reservoirs from which
onwards water competition
and negative downstream
effects will occur
 Estimating the water
productivity of irrigation
under small reservoirs

For different climate change
scenarios:
 Identifying the amount of
land that can be sustainable
used for this strategy
 Identifying the amount of
water that can be extracted
without causing negative
downstream effects
 Implications for microclimate

Expanding the
area cultivated
under the
large-scale
irrigation
schemes
For different climate change
scenarios:
 Identifying the expansion of
area that is feasible with
improved infrastructure
 Modeling the hydrological
effects and the water
productivity of increasing
the area under irrigation

Reducing the
cultivation
close to river
banks

Identifying the effects of
reduced farming on river
banks on water quality
Expanding the
number of
bore holes for
drinking water
supply

Identifying the number of
boreholes in different subregions from which onwards
water shortages will occur
Identifying alternative
options to provide drinking
water during the dry season
Implementing
the MOFA
“Three
Crops/Year
Program”


Socio-Economic Issues
Modeling the effect of
improvements in provision
of infrastructure on viability
of the strategy
Modeling the effects of
differences in communitybased maintenance of small
reservoirs on viability of the
strategy

Modeling the effect of
different land tenure
agreements
o between original land
owners and new
cultivators, and
o between cultivators and
livestock owners




Estimating the costs and
benefits of small reservoirs
(for different assumptions of
provision, maintenance and
crop productivity)
Estimating the effect on
agricultural growth and
poverty reduction (for
different assumptions
regarding productivity
increase and distribution
(among and within
communities), including
gender aspects)
Estimating the costs and
benefits of this strategy for
cultivators and livestock
farmers (for different
assumptions regarding crop
and livestock productivity)
Assessing marketing
constraints
Estimating the effect on
agricultural growth and
poverty reduction, taking
regional distribution and
gender aspects into account
Modeling the effect of
differences in communitybased maintenance and
management of infrastructure
Modeling the effects of
changes in land tenure
arrangements (e.g.,
expansion of long-term
tenure)


Modeling the effects of
different assumptions
regarding enforcement of
regulations

Estimating the effects on
household level of reduced
farming on river banks and
adoption of alternative
livelihood strategies

Modeling the effects of
different assumptions
regarding the effectiveness
of community-based
maintenance of boreholes

Estimating the costs and
benefits of increasing the
number of boreholes, taking
distributional aspects into
account

43

Estimating the costs and
benefits of improving
existing infrastructure (for
different assumptions
regarding crop productivity)
Estimating the effect on
agricultural growth and
poverty reduction, taking
distributional and gender
aspects into account
6
Potentials and Challenges of Multi-Stakeholder Governance in the
White Volta Basin
The last chapter identified major options for water resources development and management in
the region. As can be derived from the preceding chapters, there is a large variety of
stakeholders, who are involved in the planning, use and management of water resources
management in the White Volta Basin. They belong to different sectors – public – private –
third sector – and they act at different levels – from household and community level to the
regional, national and international level. Hence, they have different rights and responsibilities
regarding water resources management. Applying the concepts presented in Chapter 2, we
discuss the potentials and challenges for stakeholder coordination for integrated water
resources management in the White Volta Basin.
6.1
Existing Coordination Mechanisms
As discussed in Chapter 2, there are several reasons to establish coordination mechanisms for
water resources management: enhancing information flows for better informed decisions,
coordinating decision-making and implementation, improving regulation and promoting
democratic governance. Based on the description of Chapters 4 and 5, the existing governance
structures and coordination mechanisms for water resources management can be summarized
as follows:
Public sector organizations
The two major uses of the water resources in the White Volta Basin are agricultural use
(including crops, livestock and fishery) and domestic use. Both uses require public investment
in infrastructure, and for the management of this infrastructure, community-based
management approaches have been implemented in recent years. Due to the decentralization
policy, the District Assemblies have come to play a major role in coordination and decisionmaking of the infrastructure both for domestic and agricultural water use. The administrative
capacity for domestic water supply has been developed within the District Administration,
which enhances coordination of the actors involved. In case of agricultural water supply, the
administrative capacity is located in the agricultural sector agencies of MOFA (Regional
Directorate, District Offices, GIDA). A close coordination between the District
Administration and these sector agencies is foreseen in the legislative framework, but appears
to be still in the implementation process.
At the District level, the elected District Assembly members are the major avenue for citizen
participation in decision-making, since they have the mandate to represent the interests of
their constituencies vis-à-vis the public administration. The interviews indicate that the
Assembly members represent in fact the major channel of information flows between the
communities and the District level. Assessing this mechanism of participation one has,
however, to take into account that the population of a District is larger than 90,000
inhabitants, which limits the scope for participation at that level. The local government
structure at the sub-district structure is not well developed so that possibilities for more
participation remain limited.
In addition to citizen participation by political representation, other forms of stakeholder
participation are being practiced, as well. The interviews indicated that both the sector
agencies (MOFA, CWSA) and the District Assemblies conduct stakeholder consultations as
part of their planning procedures. These consultations provide room for NGOs and
community-based organizations to express their views and discuss issues. An analysis of these
consultations was not possible in the scope of this study, but it is worth noting that such
44
participation mechanisms are practiced. For the District Assemblies, stakeholder consultations
are included in the official guidelines for their annual planning and budget cycles.
The Regional Coordinating Council represents the major coordination mechanism beyond the
District level. However, since the development planning authority has been devolved to the
District level, regional coordination is limited to facilitation and oversight of District-level
planning.
NGOs and private sector
NGOs play an important role in domestic water supply and, to a more limited extent, in
providing small dams. With regard to coordination, their activities should also be included in
the development planning process of the District Assemblies, even though this is not always
the case. The NGOs working in the water sector do not have an umbrella organization.
Private sector agencies play a major role both the provision of physical infrastructure and, in
case of domestic water supply, also for building community capacity. The relation of the
private sector agencies to the public sector agencies is governed by contracts with the District
Assemblies or with the NGOs sponsoring the infrastructure provision. Apart from the
companies that build the small dams, the private sector organizations do not have an umbrella
organization that represents them.
Community-based organizations
The major water-related governance structures at the community-level are the water user
organizations (WUAs and WATSAN committees), the formation of which has been promoted
by the respective state agencies and NGOs. The respective sector agencies have made efforts
to promote the formation of a regional network of WUAs, and of WATSAN committees,
respectively, but this form of higher-level coordination and representation is not well
established and remains dependent on external sponsorship.
6.2
Implications for the White Volta Basin Office
According to its legal mandate, the Ghanaian Water Resources Commission – and the White
Volta Basin Office - as its regional representative – is the organization in charge of
coordinating the development and management of water resources at the sub-basin level. At
the national level, WRC has been established as a coordinating mechanism for joint decisionmaking among the different line Ministries and agencies concerned with water resources
management, with the participation of a representative of the traditional authorities, a
women’s representative and an NGO representative (see above). The WRC is a joint decisionmaking body, in which each member has a vote and the majority rule applies (Water
Resources Commission Act). The White Volta Board can be considered as a governance
structure of delegated management at the regional level. It is expected that the Board will
largely mirror the composition of the WRC, thus representing a coordination mechanism
between government agencies with the participation of a representative of the traditional
authorities, civil society and women. The Board may also adopt a joint decision-making rule.
According to the law, the final authority will rest with the WRC at the national level.
As the above analysis shows, the government sector agencies represented at the WRC at the
national level are not the only actors involved in water resources management in the White
Volta Board. Hence, the question arises to which extent and how coordination mechanisms
should be established with the other actors. As indicated in Chapter 2, different forms of
coordination can be pursued. The most far-reaching form or coordination would be the
membership at the Board. Since the Board has decision-making functions, the question
whether participation in decision-making is considered to be appropriate and legitimate, or
whether other forms of coordination – such as consultation, are considered to be more
45
appropriate. This decision rests with WRC, since WRC is the institution that delegates its
authority to the White Volta Board. The following sections present some considerations that
may be useful in informing this decision:
As indicated in Section 4.2.4.1, WRC – and hence the White Volta Board – have a farreaching mandate, which includes both planning and regulation. The Water Resources
Commission Act gives WRC the mandate to propose plans for the utilization, conservation
and development of the water resources, and to initiate, control and coordinate activities
connected with the development and utilization of water resources. As Chapter 5 shows,
planning for the infrastructure related to water resources management has, so far, been carried
out by the Districts in collaboration with the respective sector agencies. The current planning
and budgeting system at the District level – as stipulated the official guidelines (see Table A1
in the Annex) – is already challenging because it involves different actors (District
Administration, General Assembly, Sector Agencies, stakeholders to be consulted). Moreover,
funding for water resources development comes from a variety of sources (District Assembly
Common Fund, own revenues of the District, funds from international donor agencies and
from NGOs). The planning is further influenced by the fact that water resources development
– both regarding drinking water and agricultural use - has a high political priority in the
region. Hence, developing procedures for the planning of water resources development and
conservation by the White Volta Basin Board with the planning procedures of the District
Assemblies will be a major challenge. The representation of all Districts at the White Volta
Board would be an option to address this challenge. Realizing this option still requires a
decision as to whether the executive branch (elected or appointed members of the Assembly)
or the legislative branch (members of the District Administration) should represent the
Districts.
Considering the specific characteristics of the region, it might also be useful to coordinate
with sector agencies that are not included in the WRC at the national level: These include
MOFA (considering their role in promoting irrigated agriculture), the Ministry of Fishery (a
new Ministry), the Health Service (considering the role of water-related diseases in the
region), and the Minerals Commission (considering the problems caused by mining). Whether
consultation meetings with these agencies - or their membership at the Board - is a preferred
option may depend on the extent to which they can contribute to the overall planning of water
resources development – both in terms of expertise and capacity – and to which extent only
specific issues need to be coordinated with them.
Following the WRC model at the national level, the coordination with the NGOs could also be
achieved by having an NGO representative as a Board member. One challenge in the Upper
East Region is the fact that the NGOs do not have an umbrella organization. It would be
possible for the Basin Office to organize a meeting with all NGOs involved in water resources
development in the area, and promote the election of an NGO representative at this meeting.
However, in the absence of an umbrella organization of the NGOs, information flows between
the Board member and the NGO community would have to rely on informal channels.
Representing women’s interests can be achieved by inviting a representative of women’s
groups, following the model of the WRC at the national level. Consultations with the official
in charge of gender affairs in the Regional Coordinating Council might be useful to identify a
procedure by which this representation can best be achieved. To identify a representative of
the traditional authorities, the Regional House of Chiefs could be consulted. A complicating
factor in the Upper East Region is the fact that the tindanas, rather than the chiefs, are in
charge of natural resources – and they do not have a regional representation.
The WRC at the national level does not include a representative of the private sector. As
shown in Chapters 4 and 5, private sector companies play an important role in water resources
46
development in the region, because they are contracted for the provision of infrastructure and
– in case of drinking water supply – they are also contracted for community capacity building.
Unlike public sector agencies and NGOs, private sector companies do not represent public
interests. Hence, consulting private sector enterprises (e.g., in form public hearings) is, in
general, a more common coordination mechanism than having them participate in decisionmaking processes, even though such models exist, as well. The fact that the private sector
enterprises operating in the White Volta Basin do not have an umbrella organization is a
challenge for coordination with this sector, because it is unclear whom to invite to meetings.
Inviting some but not all private sector enterprises operating in the area may create problems
of “favoritism.”
A major challenge for the White Volta Board is the coordination with the water users. As for
domestic water, every inhabitant of the region is a water user. For agricultural water use, the
number is more limited, but still large, especially if those interested getting access to irrigation
water are included. Hence, a direct participation of the water users in the decision-making at
the Basin Board is not possible. If the District Assemblies are represented in the Board, they
could be considered as the representatives of the water users, especially if the Districts were
represented by elected Assembly members. If it is possible to organize the water user
associations (WUAs and WATSAN committees) at the District level, their representatives
could also serve as members at the Board, or as resource persons to be consulted in planning
processes. As indicated above, organizing the WUAs and WATSAN committees at the
regional or basin level may require continuous funding and support. However, this may be a
worthwhile investment in order to be able to bring the experience as well as the views and
interests of the water users to bear on water resources planning and management in the White
Volta Basin. If this strategy is not pursued by WRC, it will be important for the “Integrating
Governance and Modeling” Project to organize meeting with water user organizations in order
to assess different model scenarios and get the feed-back of this stakeholder group. In
communities that do not have irrigation infrastructure or bore holes, but have an interest in
getting access to this infrastructure, it may also be useful to hold community meetings to get
feed-back on model scenarios from this group.
References
Arhin, K. (2002): The Political Systems of Ghana – Background to Transformations in
Traditional Authority in the Colonial and Post-Colonial Periods. Historical Society of
Ghana. Accra, Ghana.
CWSA (2004): Safe Drinking Water - Upper East Coverages by District. Table provided by
the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Upper East Region. Bolgatanga.
Diao, X. (2005): Analyzing Growth Options and Poverty Reduction in Ghana-- Preliminary
Results of an Economy-Wide, Multi-Market Model of Ghana 1999-2005. Presentation
at a Workshop organized by IFPRI, Accra, June, 2005.
GTZ (2005): Poverty Mapping Project Data, Upper East Region. Bolgatanga, Ghana.
Gyasi, O. (2005a): Report on Community Needs Regarding Water Supply in the Upper East
Region of Ghana. Project “Integrating Governance and Modeling”. Bolgatanga,
Ghana.
Gyasi, O. (2005b): What Determines the Success of Community-based Institutions for
Resource Management? Results from a Study on Irrigation Management in Northern
Ghana. Presentation held at the Seminar on “Major Socio-Economic Issues in the Field
of Drinking Water and Irrigation in the White Volta Basin” on September 9, 2005,
Regional Coordinating Council, Bolgatanga, Ghana.
47
Gyasi, O. (2005c): Determinants of Success of Collective Action on Local Commons: An
Empirical Study of Community-Based Irrigation Management in Northern Ghana.
Lang. Frankfurt am Main.
Laube, W. and van de Giesen, N. (forthcoming): Ghanaian Water Reforms - Institutional and
Hydrological Perspectives.
Ministry of Lands and Forestry (2003): Emerging Land Tenure Issues. Report. Accra, Ghana.
MLGRD (2005): District Development Fund – Review of Local Government Investment
Funding Practices 1999-2003. Final Report. Ministry of Local Government and Rural
Development, Decentralization Secretariat, Accra.
MOFA (2005): Crop Production Data, Statistical and Research Unit. Upper East Regional
Directorate. Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana. Bolgatanga.
MOFA/IFAD (2003): Upper East Region Land Conservation and Smallholder Rehabilitation
Project, Phase II (LACOSREP II), Second Bi-Annual Progress Report (July –
December, 2003). Bolgatanga, Ghana.
North D. (1990): Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance (Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge)
North, D. (1991): Institutions, in: Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 5 (1): 97-112.
UNDP (1997): “Governance for Sustainable Human Development - A UNDP policy
document”, http://magnet.undp.org/policy/default.htm.
Uphoff N. (986): Local Institutional Development: An Analytical Sourcebook with Cases
(Kumarian Press, Conneticut)
Uphoff, N. (1993): Grassroots Organizations and NGOs in Rural Development: Opportunities
with Diminishing States and Expanding Markets, in: World Development, Vol. 21 (4),
pp. 607-622.
Water Resources Commission Act of the Republic of Ghana, 1996.
Williamson O E, (1985): The Economic Institutions of Capitalism - Firms, Markets,
Relational Contracting (The Free Press, New York)
48
Annex 1
Interview Guideline for Community Visits
Observations:
General: Road network, proximity to urban centers and services: schools, markets, clinics,
electricity, phone
Water related: Sources of drinking and irrigation water, functioning of infrastructure,
different water uses (irrigation, livestock, domestic, other),
Questions for community visits
Major constraints/problems/conflicts within water governance: What are the biggest water
related problems in the community? (General question, encourage all participants of the
meeting to voice their views, work in small groups with feedback to main group)
Actors: Who are the actors in the local water sector (NGOs, Gov: political and administrative
actors, CBOs, private sector)? (What are their roles? How do they interact, for example in the
process of site selection?).
Procedure of establishment of infrastructure: How was water infrastructure established?
(When? Who supported (NGO, gov)? How did it start? Was it a community initiative? What
was the community contribution? Why do some communities have dams and others don’t?
How does the contact and the procedure go?)
Rules: What are the Bye-Laws and norms of WUAs, are there other water related rules? (How
important are they in practice of WUA? Is there community ownership of Bye-Laws? What
was the impact of NGOs, Gov in formulation of them? What are typical issues where norms
are broken? What are possible sanctions? Which ones have been taken already? What
happens if someone goes on to disobey? Which outside actors are involved in sanctioning?)
Access to water: What is the water allocation mechanism? (What are mechanisms for dam
areas? Are there mechanisms for domestic water? For non-dam irrigation areas? Equality of
access to water?)
Access to land: What are the criteria for irrigation land distribution?
(For how long is land allocated? Has any change happened in the past? How is the handing
over between wet and dry season? Are there special measures for draught? Is there
compensation for landowners, and how is it organized? Who oversees allocation of land? Do
original owners have a say in the allocation? Equality of size? Are there contractual
agreements on land redistribution? Between which actors? Is it different between different
facilitators?)
Pricing: Do people have to pay for water? How is the pricing (if there is any) of domestic or
agricultural water organized? (Decision process, who decided, have there been amendments in
the past? How much, based on what, when do you pay, what about non-payment? Are there
criteria to excuse some users from paying fees? What happens with the money? Who decides
on what you spend money? Who keeps it? How much do you have on the bank? When did you
last spend some of this money, for what?)
Collective Action: Which are the water management activities that need collective action?
(How is that organized? How many are involved? Does it work well? How strongly can free
riders impact on common result? Are there sanctions for free riders? If collective action fails,
are there individual solutions? When and how does it work well?)
49
Selection and change of leadership: How are the leaders of different water governance
bodies put into their position and what are procedures for change of leadership? (Length of
term? Election/selection procedures? Peaceful, “revolutionary”, no changeover at all? How
does handover go: can new administration assess work of old committee? Is it clear and
generally agreed upon, who is in charge? Gender issues in leadership? Can people contradict
leadership, can they ask for accountability? Has it happened? What was the result? How long
is the current chairman in his position? How often and how many times have you changed
your leaders?)
50
Annex 2: List of Interviewed Stakeholders
1) Government Organizations
Water Resources Commission
 Mr. Ben Ampomah, Water Resources Commission (WRC)
 Mr. Aaron Aduna, White Volta Basin Officer
 Mr. Roland Abrahams, Densu River Basin Officer
Community Water and Sanitation Agency
 Mr. Opoku-Tuffour, Regional Director, Community Water and Sanitation Agency
 Steve Anakum Regional Extension Services Specialist, Community Water and Sanitation
Agency
Ministry of Food and Agriculture
 Mr. Roy Ayerga, Regional Director of MOFA, Upper East Region.
 Mr. A.R.Z. Zimblim Salifu and Mr. Paul Siameh, Regional Office of the Ministry of Food
and Agriculture (MoFA)
 Mr. J. E. Andaye, Infrastructure Specialist, Regional Office of the Ministry of Food and
Agriculture (MoFA)
 District Directors of MOFA in all 8 Districts of the Region
 Agricultural Extension Officers in all 8 Districts of the Region
Ministry of Fisheries
 Mr. Gregory Naasag, Regional Director of the Ministry of Fisheries, Upper East Region
ICOUR
 Mr. Iddrisu, Irrigation Company of the Upper Region (ICOUR)
 Mr. Bandun, Manager of Vea Irrigation Dam, Irrigation Company of the Upper Region
(ICOUR)
Hydrology
 Mr. Sylvester Darko, Hydrological Service
Health Services
 Mr. Lawrence Yelifari, Regional Director of Health Services, Upper East Region
Environmental Protection Agency
 Mr. Steve Ampofo, Programme Officer, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Forestry
 Mr. G.O. Gyampfi, Regional Director of the Forestry Services, Upper East Region.
Lands Commission
 Regional Representative
Regional and District Administration
 Chief Regional Economic Planning Officer, Upper East Region.
 Mr. J.A. Abugre, Development Planning Officer, Bolgatanga District.
 Mr. Adams Arafat A. Tia, Deputy Coordinating Director of Bolgatanga District
 Ms. Agnes Atayiela, presiding member of the Bolgatanga District Assembly, and former
chairperson of the Assembly’s Sub-Committee on Environment, Water and Sanitation
 Presiding member of the Kasena-Nankana District Assembly
 Mr. Abdulai Atchulo, District Coordinating Director of Kasena-Nankana District
51
 Deputy Coordinating Director of Kasena-Nankana District
Village Infrastructure Project (VIP)
 Mr. Edward Osei, project staff VIP Tamale, Northern Region
2) Community-level Associations
 Members of small dam Water User Association in 17 communities in all 8 Districts of the
UER
 Members of WATSAN committees in 19 communities in all 8 Districts of the UER
 Members of shallow well irrigation Water Users Association in Kaasi, Kasena-Nankana
District, UER
 Members of pump-irrigation Water Users Association at Kabore, Bawku West District,
UER
 Members of the Water Board in Pusiga
 District Assembly Men in 19 communities in all 8 Districts of the UER
 Unit Committee members in 20 communities in all 8 Districts of the UER
 Traditional authorities (chiefs, tindanas, elders) in 20 communities in all 8 Districts of the
UER
 Representatives of women’s groups in 20 communities in all 8 Districts of the UER
3) Local NGOs and Projects
 Mr. Rex Asaga and Mr. Joe Ayemba, Integrated Village Development Program of the
Catholic Church
 Mr. V. Subbey, Manager of the Sustainable Livelihoods Program, TRAX, an NGO.
 Mr. Peter Baba Akanzire, Service Training Officer, TRAX, an NGO.
 Mr. Lincoln and staff members of ADRA (Adventist Relief Agency), an NGO.
 Mr Gani Tijani, Manager of Rural Aid, an NGO
 Samson Adotey, Head of Operations, World Vision International, Tamale, Northern
Region, an NGO
 Mr. Joseph Abarik, Red Cross Ghana, Bolgatanga
 Mr Peter Jayom, Catholic Relief Service, Tamale, Northern Region, an NGO
4) Private Sector Organizations
 Mr. Leo T. Anafu, Manager of Water Visions Technology (Technical Assistants)
 Mr. J.K. Weyori, contractor, building LACOSREP dam
5) International Donor Organisations and Projects
 Mr. Oscar Kanwille, Coordinator of the FAO-ECOWAS pilot project on promotion of
socio-economic development in Onchocerciasis Free Zones
 Dr. Sven Jacobi, DANIDA, WRC Support Program
 Mr. Fred Pappoe, DANIDA Governance Program
 Mr. Rafael Nampusour, Water and Sanitation Engineer, District Capacity Building Project
(DISCAP)
 Dr. Wolfram Fischer and Ms. Rita Weidinger, GTZ Program on Rural Action
 Mr. Edward B. Boadu, Program Officer, Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES)
 Dr. Pay Drechsel, Head of West Africa Office, International Water Management Institute
(IWMI)
 Dr. Rodger Blench, Leader of IFAD/LACOSREP evaluation mission May/June 2005
52
6) Research Organisations and Projects









Prof. Joseph Ayee, Dept. of Political Science, Univ. of Ghana, Legon
Dr. Marc Andreini, former GLOWA-VOLTA coordinator
Dr. Veronika Fuest, GLOWA VOLTA Project
Marlis Gensler, GLOWA VOLTA Project
Jens Liebe, Small Reservoirs Project
Martine Poolman, Small Reservoirs Project
Dr. Francis Padi, SARI (Savannah Agricultural Research Institute)
Mr. Martin van Leeuwen, agricultural engineer, consultant to Bolgatanga Politec
Mrs. Marieke Adank, Junior Professional Officer, International Water and Sanitation
Centre, Delft, Netherlands
 Dr. Osman Gyasi, SARI (Savannah Agricultural Research Institute)
 Dr. Clara K. Fayorsey, Associate Professor, Head of Sociology Department, University of
Ghana, Legon, Accra
53
Annex 3: Guidelines for Planning at the District Level
Table A1:
Annual Planning and Budgeting Cycle of District Assemblies
Responsible
Persons/
Departments
Timelines
Planning and
Budgeting Activities
Outputs
Actors
July
Mid Year Reviews
Annual Plan and Budget
implementation status,
and gaps established,
and report produced.
DPCU and
sector
departments
DCD
July
Preparation and
Approval of Rate and
Fee Fixing Resolutions
Rate and Fee Fixing
Resolutions prepared
and approved
Budget
Committee
DBO
July
Preparation of revenue
estimates
Revenue estimates
DPCU
DBO
July
DCD issues circular to
sector departments and
SDs to prepare annual
action plans
Annual Planning and
Budgeting circular
issued
DCD, DPO,
DBO
DCD
August
Preparation of plans by
sector departments and
SDs
Sector departments and
SD plans with
indicators prepared
Sector
departments &
SD Councils
SD Secretaries,
Sector
department
heads
September
Harmonisation and
consolidation of plan
and budget by DPCUs
for the EC’s
consideration
DA, SDs and sector
planned activities
harmonised
DPCU &
Sector
departments
DPO
October
Review draft Action
Plans & Budget based
on EC comments
Draft consolidated
Action Plan and Budget
reviewed
DPCU &
Sector
departments
DPO
October
Approval of plan and
budget by General
Assembly
Consolidated Action
Plan and Budget
approved
Assembly
Members
DCD
All year
round
Plan & Budget
implementation and
coordination
Planned projects and
programmes executed
DPCU &
Sector
departments
DCD
All year
activity
Monitoring of plan and
budget implementation
Programmes, projects
and activities in line
agreed indictor
DPCU &
Sector
departments
DPO
Quarterly
Reporting
Monitoring and
implementation reports
produced and lessons
feedback into the
process
DPCU &
sector
departments
DPO
Source: MLCRD (2005: 13)
54