A national water policy aimed at improving efficiency in water delivery has been launched. The policy document is supposed to guide the Water Resources Commission on ways to properly manage water resources in the country. Water is a very scarce commodity in many towns and villages especially in the urban areas. Women and girls trek many kilometers daily in search of this basic necessity. Launching the policy, the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alhaji Boniface Abubakar Saddique said the policy was an important step in resolving the precarious water delivery situation in the country. The policy entails policy statements which implementation is expected to improve access to potable water. Speaking to Joy News on the policy, Dr Steve Manteaw of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) said a national water policy was long overdue. He wondered on what basis the government signed a management contract with Aqua Vitens Rand Limited if there was no policy. He called on the government to abrogate the contract with the company, arguing it had failed to live up to the challenge, citing the company’s failure to reduce water loses. Dr Manteaw recounted the experiences of Senegal and Tanzania which also tried the management contract deal which failed and the steps they took to rectify the situation.