Even before the clouds over the STX affordable housing deal could clear, the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alban Sumana
Bagbin, appears to have been caught in yet another evolving deal that is likely to cause no less an embarrassment to him than the STX
This time the source of embarrassment is the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, whose recent call for the expression of interest in the
Daily Graphic clearly undermines a recent announcement by the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, to the effect that a new
company, a subsidiary of Ghana Water has been set up to provide the service.
The said advert which appeared on page 45 of the Tuesday, August 23 edition of the paper was inviting "consultancy services for the provision of
advisory service and support in negotiating a public private partnership for bulk water supply under a design, build, finance, operate, and transfer
arrangement." The consultancy is to be funded through an IDA credit facility.
The advert was so obscure that it created the impression that it is only a procedural requirement that must be met to advance the Bank's neo-
liberal agenda in the water sector.
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning advert comes barely three months after the monumental failure of a similar partnership the same
World Bank brokered for Aqua Vitens Rand Limited with serious consequences for water supply and the lives of many urban communities. AVRL's
contract was consequently not renewed; "yet, the Bank has the guts to push for more of such partnerships" says Bernard Anaba of ISODEC.
But the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing says it is unaware of MOFEP's call for expression of interest to provide urban water
services other than the proposed wholly public Ghana Urban Water Company.
Abraham Otabil, Public Relations Officer at the Ministry told Public Agenda via telephone that "I am not aware of what you are talking about. As far
as we are concerned the Ministry is coming up with the Ghana Urban Water Company, which is a public company".
He insisted that in the run up to the new company coming into force, the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has been given full responsibility
for urban water delivery following the departure of Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL).
The Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing made it clear about three months ago, that after serious thoughts and deliberations by
cabinet a solely publicly owned company was in the process of being formed to handle the operations of the Ghana Water Company Limited.
There were at least two public events where the Sector Minister made clear the Ghanaian Government's intention to set up this fully publicly owned
company and even proceeded to give out a name for the intended company - Ghana Urban Water Company. The first mention of this idea was at
the handing-over ceremony of AVRL to GWCL after the failure of the AVRL-public-private-partnership arrangement in the water sector.
Confidently convinced about the failure of the AVRL-public-private-partnership arrangement in Ghana, and certain about cabinet's decision for a
fully publicly owned company, the sector Ministry again called a press conference at the Ministry of Information and made its intentions yet again
known to the public.
Some observers at the time stated their skepticism of the proposal by the Ministry. Their argument then was that it was a time and face-saving
measure to contain the huge public uproar and condemnation of the failed AVRL-public-private-partnership experiment with public water and
consequences for the lives of ordinary people. They explained that the talk about not handing over fully to GWCL and the creation of a new fully
publicly owned company was only a ruse to manage the massive public opposition towards the failed AVRL experiment
As is to be expected these suggestions were dismissed as mere conspiracy theories and the protagonists admonished to for once have faith in
their Government and leaders. Since the sector Ministry first made its commitment to the setting up of a new public company to manage the
operations of urban water systems, the public have not had much time to finish digesting what they meant by that. The sector Ministry is yet to
provide answers to the question of; why spend scarce resources to establish a new public company, when the country already has the Ghana
Water Company Limited badly in need of support and assistance to grow stronger and able. Besides the Ministry of Water resources, Works and
Housing has not at any time since its initial announcement on the newly formed Ghana Urban Water Company taken the opportunity to retract its
earlier pronouncements.
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