The Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) Dr Kodjo Mensah-Abrampa has commended the development of a national master plan that brings all stakeholders to the table to provide a comprehensive framework for the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector.
He said the challenges the WASH sector faces include the lack of coordination among various institutions, overlap in responsibilities and inadequate funding.
Dr Mensah-Abrampa, who was speaking at a WASH systems assessment workshop in Accra, said stakeholders must prioritise building strong and integrated WASH systems to achieve the country's ambitious target of 100% access to safe water and improved sanitation by 2057.
He emphasised the importance of well-defined roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders, including public, private and civil society sectors.
"For a system to work, the various components and elements must have a defined goal to attain, they must have clear responsibilities and roles that each entity must play to achieve that goal," he added.
"This is what we want because we should be an upper middle-income country, and that is the lowest we expect," he said.
The Director-General added that the clarity of policies and strategies in the WASH sector is very important because that is what enhances and gives confidence to institutions to apply and define their plans and strategies.
Dr Mensah-Abrampa underscored Ghana's ambition to leverage robust WASH systems to achieve its development aspirations outlined in the Vision 2057 Long-Term National Development Perspective Framework.
"It is encouraging that we have accepted the fact that a systems approach is the way forward for the water sector, now, we need to ensure that the various components of this system work together effectively to achieve our shared goals," he added.
The Director-General noted the importance of an "integrated government process which leaves no one behind, with clear roles and responsibilities, well-defined and predictable" for all stakeholders.
