Sustaining Water Systems in Rural and Small Towns in Ghana: The Role of Traditional Authorities in the Krachi West District

Raymond Kwasi   Boasinke; Imoro  Braimah

doi:10.19044/esj.2022.v18n3p10

Raymond Kwasi Boasinke Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Cape Coast Cape Coast, Ghana
Imoro Braimah Department of Planning Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2022.v18n3p10

Keywords: Traditional Authorities, Water Systems, Rural Communities, small town

Abstract

The sustainability of water systems in rural communities and small towns in Ghana has been a major challenge that has engaged the attention of government, Non-governmental Organisations, and academics. There have been several attempts at developing models that will ensure the sustainability of water systems in Ghana. This study examined the role of traditional authorities in the management of water systems in rural communities and small towns in the Krachi West District in the Oti Region of Ghana. Using a qualitative research design, the study purposely selected and interviewed 69 respondents. The study revealed that traditional authorities play critical roles in ensuring the sustainable management of water systems in rural communities and small towns in Ghana. It also revealed that respondents want a community management model that has traditional authorities as members of an official advisory board to the Water and Sanitation Management Teams (WSMTs). It further revealed that the traditional authorities and the WSMTs have a cordial working relationship. The study, therefore, recommends that traditional authorities should officially be recognised and their roles spelled out in the community management model of water systems in Ghana.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

PlumX Statistics

References

1. Baloyi, T.B. (2016). The role of traditional leadership in local government. A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of Witwatersrand.
2. Daneel, M.L. (1996). Environmental reform: A new venture of Zimbabwe’s traditional custodians of land. Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 28(37-38), 347- 376.
3. Derbile, E.K. (2012). Water user association and indigenous institutions in the management of community based irrigation schemes in northeastern Ghana. European Scientific Journal, 8(26),118-135.
4. Ghana Statistical Service (2014). Ghana Living Standard Survey Round 6: Poverty profile in Ghana (2005-2013). Accra: Ghana.
5. Koethenbeurger, M. (2007). Revisiting the decentralisation theorem- On the role of externalities. Cesifo Working Paper, 2128, 1-10.
6. Khunou, S.F. (2017). The customary anatomy of the traditional governance of the Bafokeng traditional community: The implications of the constitutional recognition of hereditary headmanship.PER/PELJ2017(20)doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/1727- 3781/2017/v20i0a3270.
7. Khunou, S.F. (2011). Traditional leadership and governance: legislative environment and policy development in a democratic South Africa. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science 1(9), 278-290.
8. Kwashie, H.B.K. (2009). The management and sustainability of water supply facilities in rural communities: Lessons from the Volta Region. Ghana Social Science Journal, 5&6 (1&2), 188-216.
9. Mawere, M., Mabeza, C.M.&Shava, T. (2014). Traditional authority in community-based natural resource management (CBNRM): A critical investigation of the role of traditional authority in fisheries management in GacheGache communal lands of Kariba, Zimbabwe. Fisheries and Aquaculture Journal 5(2), 1-7 doi:10.4172/2150- 3508.1000093.
10. Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (2016). The composite budget of the Krachi West District Assembly for the 2016 fiscal year. Accra: Ministry of Finance and Economic
a. Planning.
11. Mowo, J.G., Adimassu, Z., Catacutan, D., Tanui, J., Masuki, K. &Lyamchai, K. (2013). The importance of local traditional institutions in the management of natural resources in the highlands of East Africa. Human Organisation, 72(2):154-163.doi: 10.17730/humo.72.2.e1x3101741127x35.
12. Oates, D.E. (1993). Fiscal decentralisation and economic development. National Tax Journal, 46:237-243.
13. Oates, W.E. (1999). An essay on fiscal federalism. Journal of Economic Literature, 37, 1120- 1149.
14. Phadima, J. & Lawes, M.J. (2015). The role of traditional authority in the use and management of forest resources at the Ongoye forest. Message posted at http://www.researchgate.net/publication/266229224).
15. Scoones, I. & Matose, F. (1993). Local woodland management: constraints and opportunities for sustainable resource use. World Bank Technical Paper- INOR PUBLICATIES.
16. Sulemana, T. A. (2010). The role of traditional authorities in water resource management in Binaaba, Bawku West District. A thesis submitted to the Department of Planning Management, Faculty of Planning and Land Management, University for Development Studies.