Impact of socio-economic factors on the performance of small town water systems in the Western Region of Ghana

The Western Region of Ghana is one of the country’s most deprived yet well-endowed regions. Through a World Bank grant, the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (the body that facilitates the provision of water and sanitation services to rural communities and small towns in Ghana) awarded a 3-year contract for the provision of water and sanitation facilities to 16 towns in the Western Region between 2012 and 2014. This paper captures the internal and external factors that impacted the performance of these communities as part of the software component of the project. Internal factors included comparatively high poverty rates and low-levels of literacy, leadership rifts as well as the heterogeneity of settlements. External factors included communities’ geographical location, the pre-selection of communities, low-levels of development and inadequate regional level support. These factors culminated in a complex labyrinth in the drive towards sustainable community ownership and management of the water systems.