The Mole XVII Conference – 19th- 23rd June 2006

The Mole XVII Conference – 19th- 23rd June 2006

The seventeenth Mole Conference this year has again been successful. The theme of this year’s conference was on the “Challenges to Delivery of Water and Sanitation Services for the Poor”. In order to achieve the theme of the conference, participants and stakeholders agreed on: Prioritisation of sanitation at all levels; promoting better targeting of the ‘poor’; exploring innovative sector funding options; involving citizens for greater accountability; national reorientation on 5% capital contribution; accelerating guinea-worm eradication; ensuring efficient utilisation of water boards funds; and facilitating increase in government funding to sector…………….

The seventeenth Mole Conference this year has again been successful. The theme of this year’s conference was on the “Challenges to Delivery of Water and Sanitation Services for the Poor”. In order to achieve the theme of the conference, participants and stakeholders agreed on: Prioritisation of sanitation at all levels; promoting better targeting of the ‘poor’; exploring innovative sector funding options; involving citizens for greater accountability; national reorientation on 5% capital contribution; accelerating guinea-worm eradication; ensuring efficient utilisation of water boards funds; and facilitating increase in government funding to sector.

The four days conference which was held at the Coconut Grove Beach Resort, Elmina in the Central Region welcomed participants and stakeholders on Monday and was officially opened on Tuesday. On Tuesday, there was a documentary on water and poverty. The theme address was delivered by WaterAid, Ghana. There was a panel discussion on peri-urban services, the results of which were presented after lunch by panel members. The resource persons for the discussion included the GWCL, UN-Habitat, CWSA, Town and Country Planning and MLGRD. There were further presentations and discussions on ‘Management Contract in Urban Water Supply’ later in the afternoon.

The topic for day 3 was Rural/Small Town Water Supply and Management. There were presentations, discussions and group work. The areas covered included: Achieving sustainable and universal coverage of rural water supply, threats and opportunities; meeting the water supply needs of small towns; innovations in water purification technology; basic information on self-supply water; formulating the association of water and sanitation development; and promoting citizens action in water and sanitation service delivery.

Day 4 again gave participants and organisations the opportunity to engage in discussions and make presentations on up-scaling sanitation sustainable delivery, and sustainable domestic financing of water and sanitation services. Resource persons and organisations for the day included UNICEF, SHEP, TREND, DANIDA, MoFED, ISODEC, CWSA, NCAP, CONIWAS, WaterAid and GrassRootAfrica. There was a plenary discussion on key issues, and finally a closing ceremony to bring the conference to the end.

On the whole, the conference was seen as a success as participants, stakeholders and organisations shared knowledge and experiences to make the life of the poor better in terms of delivery water and sanitation services.