The Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alhaji Collins Dauda, has underscored the need for public-private partnerships to pool resources to solve the water and sanitation problems confronting the nation.

He said GH¢443,250,000 was required by the government annually to improve water and sanitation.

Alhaji Dauda was addressing the opening session of the 2013 Water Africa and West Africa Building and Construction Exhibition and Seminar in Accra yesterday.

The three-day event is on the theme: “Ghana’s Urban and Rural Water and Sanitation Challenges in the 21st Century”.

It is being organised by ACE Event Management of the United Kingdom and its local partners.

Alhaji Dauda said although some efforts had been made in the last 10 years in the water and sanitation sector, there was still the need to increase the construction of sustainable facilities to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

While the MDGs target of halving the number of persons without access to potable water and sanitation facilities by 2015 translates into a national coverage of 75 per cent for water and 56 per cent for sanitation, he said Ghana had set itself a much higher figure of 85 per cent for water and sanitation.

He said as of 2010, the country had achieved a national coverage of 64 per cent for water and 15 per cent for sanitation.

According to him, the ministry, acting through the Community Water and Sanitation Agency and the Ghana Water Company Limited, was working seriously to ensure that the targets were achieved.

Housing, he said, continued to be one sub-sector of the economy that deserved serious attention and the government was poised to do just that, adding that at the close of last year, Parliament gave approval for two major housing projects — 5,000 housing units to be executed by Messrs OAS Limited and 4,172 housing units by Messrs Ital Construct International Limited.

Alhaji Dauda said the ministry was committed to completing the 4,720 affordable housing units which were at various stages of completion in Accra, Kumasi, Koforidua, Tamale and Wa.

The Tema Development Company has also been allocated the Kpone site to complete 1,500 units there.

Alhaji Dauda said the ministry would conclude the national housing policy to make it more realistic to the needs of the low income group before submitting it to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.