Study on formalising relationships between CWSA, private operators, WSMTs and other actors

 The National Community Water and Sanitation Programme (NCWSP) which introduced the Community Ownership and Management (COM) concept has made some progress since its launch in 1994. Access to water supply in rural communities and small towns in Ghana has risen from 27% in 1990 to 62% in 2022, while contributing to improvement in water-related sanitation and hygiene. However, the programme was fraught with significant challenges.

A key part of COM was the facilitation support provided by CWSA, as defined in Act 564. As a facilitator (as opposed to an implementer or operator) of rural water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, CWSA prepared strategic investment plans for the rural water subsector and supported the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) with activities such as preparing their WASH projects, sourcing investment finance, procuring contractor and consultant services, supervising the construction of facilities, engaging communities and educating them on good hygiene practices, training local Water and Sanitation Management Teams (WSMTs) to enable facility managers to deliver services sustainably, supporting with diagnosing major faults, and backstopping them in their management roles. Under the COM model, CWSA had no staff at facility level and communities took responsibility for managing their water services – mainly water points but also some limited mechanised schemes (LMSs), through volunteer WSMTs. Notionally, the WSMTs reported to the MMDAs, as their service authorities.