The Minister for Water Resource, Works and Housing, Alban Sumana Bagbin has said government is putting together transitional arrangements as the management contract of Aqua Vitens Rand Limited comes to an end on June 5, 2011. Government's decision not renew the contract of Aqua Vitens, a company contracted to manage urban water distribution on behalf of the Ghana Water Company, has been a subject of speculation for some weeks now with various civil society organization calling for a non-renewal of the contract. On Wednesday, the sector minister officially announced government's decision not to renew the contract citing non-performance as the major reason. Confirming the government's decision to Joy FM's Super Morning Show host Kojo Oppong-Nrkumah, Mr Bagbin stated that "the evidence is so glaring that the issue of renewal is not one of those being considered." He said there was need to rationalise and restructure the water sector as a whole and that he intends to brief cabinet on the road map to achieving this before any further decision is taken on the matter. Mr Bagbin said the private sector and development partners have all expressed interest in the water sector and his ministry was working with stakeholders to find the most appropriate way to collaborate with them. According to him, departments such as the hydrological unit of the sector ministry must all be strengthened in order to widen their scope so that they can close the gaps that currently exist in the water sector. He intimated that government will liaise with the agencies and all stakeholders to ensure that the restructuring is done within a matter of 12 months. "The most important thing is the fact that we have to put a structure that will be able to protect, preserve and even enhance the sources of water. We are killing all our rivers, we are killing all our lakes we are polluting and degrading our environment and we are making it almost impossible for us to get potable water to improve our lives." In view of government's desire to quickly get the problem solved, Mr Bagbin stated that "government has gone beyond the traditional development partners to the new players in the global arena like China, Korea, India, Brazil and recently Turkey ...for us to make sure that we produce enough and we are able to put a system in place to reduce the non-revenue water from the current level of about 51.5% to something that is acceptable, below 30%." Meanwhile the Public Relations Officer of Aqua Vitens Rand Limited has stated that the company intends to contribute to changing the water sector in the country and will therefore continue to work in Ghana to achieve this. He said the decision not to renew the contract does not mean the company has completely failed at its mandate but admitted there remained some challenges to be surmounted if the problems in the water sector are to be adequately dealt with. Story by Derick Romeo Adogla/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana