Mr. Chairman,
Minister, Sanitation and Water Resources, Hon. Kofi Adda
Chief Executive of CWSA
Regional Directors and staff of CWSA
Hon. Municipal Chief Executive
Coordinating Directors
Non-Governmental Organisations representatives,
Distinguished Invited Guests,
Members of the Press,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am greatly honoured and delighted to be present at this Review Conference of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA). To our eminent speakers and participants who have come from all over the country, I extend to you a very warm welcome to Kumasi, the Garden City of Ghana. We are indeed honoured to have you here with us. I am optimistic that this Review Conference will provide an appropriate forum to interact with key stakeholders in the Sanitation and Rural Water and Sub-sector and also chart the path of transformation for the operations of the CWSA in the years ahead.

Mr. Chairman, after working towards achieving goals for a whole year, it is always proper to review activities at the end of the period to find out whether targets set have been achieved, and to identify gaps for the necessary corrective measures to be taken.  As you travel through this conference, let me urge you all to come up with strategies that will help the Agency to be transformed and operate better than it has done over the past years.

Mr. Chairman, water we say is ‘Life’. The provision of water, sanitation and hygiene promotion services being facilitated by CWSA has definitely made huge impact in the lives of people living in small towns and rural communities in the Ashanti Region. It is my hope that you will not be complacent with what you have achieved so far, but rather challenge yourselves to reach the highest level. The cost expended in organizing this review conference should be justified with concrete, achievable and measurable programs of action developed to address challenges that militated against the performance of the Agency during the period under review.

I have been reliably Informed that around a third of borehole facilities in the region are non-functional at any given time. To ensure the sustainability of WASH facilities and services, there is the need to continuously monitor their operations. I therefore find the theme for this year’s Review Conference; “Rural Water and Sanitation Services Provision: Current Role of CWSA and the Way Forward for Effective and Sustainable Delivery” very appropriate

It is my hope that, by the end of this conference, appropriate models would have been developed to address the challenges militating against the sustainable management of rural water supply systems. This will ensure that our people continuous and reliable  access to these basic necessities of life.

I wish to inform participants that Kumasi and indeed the Ashanti Region constitutes one of the greatest tourism hubs in Ghana. The Region is blessed with a number of the world’s heritage sites among which are the Bosomtwe Lake, Royal Mausoleum where the late Kings of Ashanti are buried, the Manhyia Palace. I wish the organisers of this meeting would plan a visit to these tourists’ sites at the end of the conference.

Ladies and Gentlemen, once again, I welcome all of you to the Ashanti Region. I urge everyone to actively participate in the discussions over the next four days. I wish you all a successful and fruitful conference.

Thank you and May God bless our homeland Ghana.