Minister, CONIWAS Chair Close MOLE 36 With Strong Calls for Action, Accountability and Innovation in Ghana’s WASH Sector

By Samuel Asamoah

Ghana’s flagship Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) dialogue, the Mole Conference, closed on Thursday with an emphatic call for stronger regulation, innovative financing, and urgent cross-sector collaboration to address deeply rooted structural challenges undermining progress in the sector.

Delivering her closing remarks, Chairperson of the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), Dr. Beata Awinpoka Akanyani, described Mole XXXVI as one of the most technically enriched in recent years, attracting two cabinet ministers, a deputy minister, and more than 197 participants from across the WASH ecosystem.

She said the rare high-level government presence reaffirmed Mole’s growing influence as a national platform for policy engagement, not just a technical forum.

Structural Problems Laid Bare

Dr. Akanyani noted that four days of discussions exposed persistent weaknesses that continue to slow transformation in Ghana’s WASH sector. These include fragmented water service management, obsolete infrastructure, weak revenue systems, and poor coordination among the 12 ministries that contribute to the WASH mandate.

Financing gaps remained a major concern despite a GHS 1.2 billion allocation from the District Assemblies Common Fund to sanitation-related activities. She added that private sector participation is still “under-scaled and unstructured,” while illegal mining continues to threaten water supply security nationwide.

Data fragmentation, climate vulnerability, and inconsistent standards across district-level service delivery also featured prominently among the challenges.

Innovation, Hope and Replicable Models

Despite the problems, the CONIWAS Chair highlighted emerging solutions worth scaling, including blended finance models combining government resources, donor funds, climate financing, and private capital.

Digital tools for billing, monitoring and customer service, community scorecards, district WASH dashboards, and CSO-led water source protection were identified as practical approaches already yielding results.

She announced plans for quarterly engagements with key ministries and a new partnership with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to strengthen academic rigour and expand the conference’s global reach.

Government Commits to Reform

In his final address, the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim, underscored the need for harmonised regulation across the WASH sector, insisting that “fragmentation and parallel systems can no longer deliver national sanitation transformation.”

He said government would work with Parliament, the Ministry of Works and Housing, and sector agencies to streamline mandates, strengthen enforcement of sanitation by-laws, and reactivate the Water and Sanitation Sector Working Group.

The Minister also pushed for innovative financing approaches, including public-private partnerships, community-based models, sanitation levies, and climate funding to expand safely managed WASH services.

“Vision requires resources,” he said. “We cannot reach universal access with limited and conventional financing models.”

Innovation as a National Imperative

Hon. Ibrahim lauded local innovators pushing climate-smart sanitation solutions, digital monitoring systems, decentralised treatment technologies, and youth-led WASH enterprises. He encouraged more investment in homegrown technologies and community empowerment to sustain behaviour change.

He announced government’s commitment to upgrade Environmental Health and Sanitation Units in MMDAs into full departments, fulfilling a pledge made in the 2016 NDC manifesto.

Communique and Next Steps

Both CONIWAS and the Ministry confirmed that a draft four-point communique developed at the conference will guide national follow-ups ahead of Mole 37. The Minister pledged full engagement with its recommendations.

CONIWAS promised to track sector progress, refine innovations discussed, and strengthen coordination with ministries and development partners.

Improving Mole Conferences

Dr. Akanyani acknowledged logistical gaps at Mole 36, including time management lapses, inadequate breakout spaces, and unstable technology. She pledged improved coordination with moderators, better daily registration tracking, enhanced media visibility, and a stronger focus on youth and gender inclusion.

Sector Gratitude and a Renewed Mandate

CONIWAS expressed appreciation to UNICEF, WaterAid Ghana, CRS, Plan International Ghana, WSUP, World Vision, IRC, SNV, and ESPA for supporting the conference, as well as contributors, exhibitors and facilitators.

As the curtains fell, both the Minister and the CONIWAS Chair stressed that Ghana’s WASH transformation depends on unity of purpose, innovation rooted in local reality, and a shift from dialogue to measurable action.

“WASH is not just a facility issue,” Dr. Akanyani reminded the sector. “It is about dignity, justice, and resilience.”

Participants departed with a renewed pledge to meet at Mole 37 not only to discuss challenges, but to measure how far Ghana has moved toward universal, climate-resilient, safely managed WASH services.