CIAO DATE: 07/2013
June 2013
Centre for International Governance Innovation
The city of Accra faces challenges in providing its citizens with potable water due to rapid population growth, poverty and governance challenges. This policy brief highlights the positive uses of local water boards (LWBs) and “water dialogues” to spark discussion and change in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area. The international community has outlined the need for participatory environmental governance for decades and drawing upon this discourse, the authors, Leila M. Harris and Cynthia Morinville, discuss whether this governance is feasible in Accra. They note that dialogue must be sensitive to local concerns and designed to ensure that citizens’ voices are heard. The authors recommend that LWBs are instituted in additional communities in Accra, that effort is put into improving the function of the boards, that participatory mechanisms are strengthened to ensure citizen representation, and that best practices are shared with other urban areas with similar challenges.
Resource link: Improving Participatory Water Governance in Accra, Ghana [PDF]