Mr Alban S.K. Bagbin, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, has called for a holistic, objective and scientific approach to tackle problems facing the water sector. He said the sector had been faced with numerous challenges in achieving sustainable water and sanitation delivery. The Minister said it was incumbent on service providers and beneficiaries to recognise their roles in ensuring that systems put in place operated efficiently and effectively. Mr Bagbin was addressing the opening session of a two-day stakeholders forum on urban water delivery in Accra on Tuesday. The Forum, the third in series being organised by the Ministry in collaboration with its partners is on the theme: "Improving Urban Water Delivery, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow". He said that provision of potable water was critical to government's policy for sustainable economic development and committed to ensure that Ghanaians had access to potable water. Mr Bagbin said during the 1990's Ghana undertook extensive reforms including increase in private sector participation in the management of urban water sector, establishment of oversight and regulatory bodies on water, decoupling of rural water from urban water supply and conversion of Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation into a Company. He noted that after 10 years of debate over the Private Sector Participation, government entered into a five-year lease contract for the provision of urban water services in the country under a Management Contract. "Five years following the coming into force of the contract, we can say, with all certainty that we have made some gains even though a lot still remains to be done," he said. Mr Bagbin observed that urban water supply coverage managed by Ghana Water Company had improved with about 81 per cent of water supply systems. He said despite all the improvement made, several challenges both man-made and natural threatened to minimise the positive impact achieved. The challenges include dwindling water per capita, high non-revenue water, obsolete equipment, pollution of water sources, high levels of wastage, political interference, rapid urbanisation and long years of corporate carelessness manifesting in poor sector governance. The Sector Minister said the five-year management contract would end in May this year, and urged the participants to examine the impact in relation to its set objectives and targets as well as the performance of the urban water supply and come out with proposals on the interim arrangement after the expiration day. Brigadier General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah (Rtd), National Security Advisor, expressed concern about the problems facing the water sector in providing potable water to Ghanaians. He said water was essential and therefore the need to tackle the current situation with all seriousness. Brigadier General Nunoo-Mensah complained about the exposure of water sachets destroying the environment and called for the abolition of the production of sachet water since its safety could not be assured. "Water sachet has become a menace and it is destroying the environment and a threat to lives. We need to tackle it with tactical solutions," he added. Source: GNA