Furniture Fair Ends In Accra

A one-stop shop to promote the furniture and décor industry has ended in Accra offering visitors access to the latest styles and trends of modern furnishing designs.
The four-day event, organized by XODUS Communications, an events management company, specialized in fairs, theater production and marketing showcase home furniture, office furniture and commercial furniture.
Operators who offer interiors decoration services also displayed their services and employed different strategies such as distributing flyers to attract customers.
Richard Abbey Jnr., Chief Executive officer of XODUS Communications, shortly after the fair, said the event which was the second to be organized by his company was designed to serve as a marketing tool for offering ample business opportunities for players.
The second Furniture and décor fair which was built on the success of last year’s, featured a seminar on project investment where resource persons took exhibitors and the public through project financing options.
Some renowned furniture companies, which participated in the fair, included Simbin’s Furniture, Woodeck Company Limited, Tekua, Nest Furniture Company Limited and Woodjoynts limited.
Others in the décor industry showing off their latest products and seeking business opportunities are KETS DÉCORand Curtains, Design Xpress, Mosaix Interior, Ceiling Professionals Limited and Hortserve Lanscapes Consult.
Ronald Kojo Binder, Chief Executive Officer of Simbin’s Furniture, described last year’s fair as phenomenal as it boosted his company’s business.
“We picked up large customer base and the follow-up was good, we hope it would be bigger this year.”
After seven years of being in the furniture industry, Simbin’s, which generally deals in imported products from the Unites States, has since the last two years commenced the manufacture of local furniture for which 70 per cent are exported.
Audry Forson of Ketura, producers of handcrafted furniture and décor, participated in the maiden fair but was not happy with the outcome.
“We decided to be at this year’s because we can see the organizers have improved on the last fair and so far it’s been good.”
Ketura has been in business for the past ten years and mainly exported its hand-made wood work.
The company that has grown from producing only traditional handicraft pieces to contemporary African furniture and decor and is now a growing business in the Ghanaian economy and now sells some of its products on the domestic market.

By Emelia Ennin

When Gas Stations Run Dry…

Many Ghanaians, especially automobile users, who mostly use gas as their main source of fuel, are facing acute shortage of gas across the country.

Godwin Agbe, a taxi driver with over 12 years experience said “this is the worse time in my life since I started driving.”

The domestic gas users also move from one gas station to the other with their containers, popularly referred to as ‘cylinder’-probably because of the shape, but they are met with the ‘No Gas’ sign.

Jonathan Baidoo, who works at the Anyaa gas station in the Ga East Municipality was seen relaxing in a chair on Wednesday afternoon at a time when every employee is expected to be busy at work.

He said “we have always been the last resort for people when gas run out of the system but now we have not had any supply for three weeks.”

At another gas station, customers had lined up with their empty cylinders hoping to get the product while others have taken the phone numbers of the attendants.

“I receive phone calls from all sorts of people but I keep telling them to call the next day. I am not sure when we will get supply but we are in constant contact with the delivers.”

At the Odogornor gas station, Sarah Mobi said, “The supply has been erratic, we run out shortly after getting a supply because of the shortage and then we come to square one and we have no idea when the next one will come.

After failing to report at her workplace for two consecutive days, Sarah decided to buy two gas containers for her family which depend on gas for cooking, heating food and sometimes lighting.

She is however happy the shortage has not caused an increase in prices at the gas stations.

“I have always feared that a gas shortage would cause a jump in the prices but I am glad it is not occurring here in Ghana. The institutions responsible for the regular and frequent supply of this essential good must resolve this problem once and for all.”

The supply interruptions are becoming more frequent and increasingly difficult to manage but government says it is putting in place a comprehensive programme to solve the problem.

The various agencies responsible for gas importation, storage and delivery say the shortage can be attributed to the rise in the usage and demand of consumers especially the increasing usage of the product by commercial taxi drivers.

Experts have however called for the opening of separate terminals for commercial users who would have to pay more money than domestic users.

Taxi drivers have reacted sharply to the proposal for separate gas terminals to distinguish between domestic and commercial users.

Bright Koomson, a taxi driver who had to abandon his vehicle at Odorkor to carry his empty cylinder to Burma Camp said, “The proposal will not solve the problem.”

With his shirts drenched in sweat, Mr. Koomson explained that he converted from the use of petrol to gas after a friend told him it was more affordable “but my sweat can tell you that I am losing more than I have bargained for.”

The father of two used to fill his fuel tank with GH¢20 worth of diesel before setting out for work every day “but with the gas shortage I spend less than GH¢10 and it made life a bit easy for me.”

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) noted that the constant shortage of LPG is as a result of the lack of adequate storage facilities.

Data available at the Ministry of Energy show that the nation needs 1,000 metric cubic tons of gas to meet its daily consumption.

According to the National Petroleum Authority, the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), which is the only LPG production facility in the country, produces just a fraction of the daily consumption.

Part of the problem has been blamed on the nation’s inability to establish a gas processing plant after it discovered oil in commercial quantities.

It is indeed sad that after several months of drilling oil from the Jubilee oilfield, which have 600 million barrels of proven reserves and a potential for about 1.5 billion barrels of oil, the nation continues to flare the associated gas.

Apart from the waste and loss in revenue, the emission of dangerous chemicals into the atmosphere, could pose serious health problems to Ghanaians and also contribute to global warming.

That is why some people have called for the immediate construction of a national gas processing plant to make gas a major source of energy in Ghana

However, Alex Mould, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NPA, indicated that the recent shortage of LPG on the market is as a result of improper distribution of the product.

“The NPA is going to be very strict on distributors to ensure that they obey the rules and regulations so that we will be able to alleviate some of the problems Ghanaians are facing.”

After touring TOR with some journalists to acquaint himself with the LPG situation at the refinery, Mr. Mould explained that Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has tanks that can take 6,500 metric tonnes while the refinery can only produce 250 tonnes a day.

The NPA boss revealed that his outfit was considering how the jetty, the pipe lines and the tanks at TOR could be expanded, adding that it was also planning to build another storage depot outside Tema since the jetty at Tema is the only one in the country.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) at NPA, Yaro Kasambata is optimistic the frequent gas shortages could be minimized, if not eliminated, if the storage and distribution of LPG is decentralized.

Labour experts estimate that the shortage of gas is costing the nation millions of cedis as a people leave their jobs to search for gas.

However, several people, especially operatives in the charcoal industry, producers and truck drivers, middlemen who buy from the producers and sellers have taken advantage of the situation to make huge profits.

By Emelia Ennin published on the Business Guide website wwww.businessguideghana.com

Dog Business Booms

The craze for exotic breed of man’s best friend, the dog, has become a lucrative business in Ghana in recent times.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that there are over 150 dog breeders engaged in the dog business in Accra alone.

Young boys are seen in traffic intersections with puppies in hands while areas near the Achimota forest, Cantonment, East Legon and Teshie are the main centres for the dog trade.CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE checks revealed that the price for a puppy depending on the breed sells between GH¢500 and GH¢2,000.

“The dog business is a growing one. More people are appreciating the price of a puppy which until recently was compared to the price of a cow when mentioned,” said Robert Nicole, owner of Roni’s Kennel, one of the leading breeders in the country.

Mr Nicole, who had his first set of dogs- a German shepherd and a Rottweiler- in his teens, never thought of keeping dogs for business.“It was more of a hobby,” he said but after he crossed his female dogs with the male dogs of the same breed of a friend, he had seven puppies.

Though he lost five of the puppies, he later sold them for GH¢100 each when they were eight weeks old.For the second time, he had eight puppies of which six survived and then when they were old enough to be weaned off their mother, he sold them.Then he realized his passion for dogs could turn into a profitable business.

Today, Mr. Nicole owns a big kennel with over 36 breeds of dogs ranging from Boerboel, Mastiff of different types such as Miniature Bull Terrier, Neopolitan, and the English Mastiff to the American Pit Bull, Great Dane, Chihuahua and the Japanese Tosu.

Since the dogs need enough space to exercise, they are reared on two plots of land in Dansoman, East Legon, Koforidua and Weija where 12 employees handle the care and sales of the dogs.

The company also makes use of the services of external trainers and private service providers who groom the dogs.

From four outlets in East Legon, Osu, Kasoa and Spintex, the dogs are sold to anybody who loves dogs.

Mr. Nicole’s customers include government officials, former presidents and their wives, expatriates, ministers, entrepreneurs and the general public.

The company also sells to security companies who prefer older dogs and specific breeds such as the Boerboel and the Ridge Buck.

The price for a puppy depending on the breed sells between $200 and $300, Mr Nicole stated.To attract customers, Roni’s Kennel resorts to various marketing strategies including word of mouth such as recommendations from customers to others.

Besides, the CEO also researches constantly to keep trend with the bred in the system.

He advised buyers and potential buyers to make purchases from recognized breeders who would give them quality for their money.

Among other business such as Roni’s Properties and Roni’s Cleaners, the 33-year-old also owns a dog food outlet, which is the main agent of an American and a British company for Ghana and West Africa.

In future, Mr Nicole wants to expand his business to Takoradi in the Western region, Ghana’s oil hub and Kumasi in the Ashanti region.

“I also want to bring in a plant that would manufacture and process dog food,” said the young CEO who also plans to set up a Ghana Kennel Club which would seek to wipe out breeders who are not “doing the right thing.

”More demand is expected from the growing desire of individuals to buy dogs for keep as pets or for safety and the increasing security companies in the country.

But the President of the Private Veterinary Association, Dr Jonathan Amakye-Anim, is worried that some dog breeders keep dogs in terrible conditions and are not following best practices in the business.“They do not keep the pedigree.

They just cross any type of dog,” he said and cautioned dog breeders to register with qualified veterinary officers as well as ensure that vaccination was done by certified vet surgeons.

Dog owners must feed their dogs with the right kind of food, “the sick and energetic dog must not be fed on the same food”, he advised.A dog trainer, B. J. Kofi Cole, who has been taming dogs for years, believes the dog business would get better with more education.

The expert, who can make wild dogs calm and vice versa, said, “There are five commands a dog can obey but I can generate over 500 commands out of this.”By Emelia Ennin posted on www.dailyguideghana.com

I want to be a better blogger

Dear friends,

From the e-mails I get from you I know most of you have been following my blog and I must thank you sincerely.
now I want to use this platform to serve a bigger audience and I have entered the Women Bloggers Deliver Competition!

My fingers are crossed and hoping I will be selected to help me achieve my dream of championing the course of women.

as I have always said women are special and its about time we raise to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that are available to us and go ahead to maximsie out skills.

women are able to tell they own stories better, don't you agree?

The Last Man Goes With The Last Tree

30 years ago when Kojo Adu was growing up at Nsemere in the Wenchi Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region, there were giant trees everywhere.

Kojo loved the green tall trees and the fresh air and has fond memories of the area. He used to run around as well as take long walk near the forest on his way to the family’s farm.

Today, the story is different, considerable portions of the once-extensive forests have been destroyed.

Large portions of the natural vegetation have been destroyed due to the clearing of land for agriculture and construction of houses.

Data at the Forestry commission show that there are 20 forest reserves covering a total of area of 233,469 hectors in the Brong Ahafo, however the activities of illegal timer operators, which have been on the rise in recent times, have left the conserved areas with damaged trees.

It is not only in the Brong Ahafo that forest is lost every year since forest in every part of Ghana has been decreasing rapidly and significantly.

Large tracts of forest have been cleared for the cultivation of cash crops such as cocoa, Jetropha, which thrive in the rich soil of the rain forest while bulldozers of rich mining companies are cutting down trees to make way for their operations.

In the Northern part of the country, deforestation, overgrazing and periodic drought have led to desertification and soil erosion.

There has been rampant encroachment of our forest reserves in recent times due to the production of timber for export and the local market as well.

Kwabena A. Otu-Danquah, Chief of the Renewable Energy Division of the Energy Commission is worried about the indiscriminate felling of trees for charcoal and firewood which has become a very lucrative business.

It is difficult to regulate the industry and put a stop to the practice because charcoal happens to be the major source of energy for cooking in most Ghanaian homes,.

He said his outfit discovered that large volumes of charcoal were being exported out of the country under the non–traditional export and “we decided that if we allow people to export without permit the country will become a desert in the not-too-distance future.”

Ghana’s rate of forest depletion has hit 62,000 hectares annually and the country’s forest is currently regarded as one of the highest degraded in the developing world.

The poor rating is because the country’s total forest cover of 8.2 million hectares during the 20th century has been reduced to about one million presently.

The lost of forest is presenting a major challenge to policy makers and environmentalists, who are proposing various forms of measures to redeem the situation.

To address the alarming level of degradation and depletion of the country’s forests, government has decided to strictly enforce policies and associated legislation on forestry to ensure the sustainability of natural resource and bio-diversity conservation in the country.

Government in February this year launched the National Plantation Development Programme as part of efforts to reduce the rate of deforestation and significantly bringing down its effects on rural communities.

So far about 10,000 hectares of forest plantation have been attained out of the targeted 51,000 hectares of forest projected to be planted by end of 2011.

According to Afari Dartey, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission, degraded forest reserves and off-reserve areas will be replanted to achieve a sustainable resource base that will satisfy future demands for industrial timber and enhance environmental quality.

The programme had so far created 40,000 jobs in districts across the country in the areas of seedling production, land clearance, planting and other tending activities.

Collins Dauda, Minister of Forestry, Lands and Natural Resources, believes the forestry sector is receiving attention in recent times, both in terms of its relevance and contribution to resolving national problems and the large quantum of resources being poured into it to achieve the desired goals.

Ghana has ratified international agreements protecting tropical forests, wetlands, and the ozone layer and this has led to the banning of the export of raw logs.

Hon. Dauda maintained that efforts were also underway to restructure the timber processing sector to achieve increased value-addition before exports.

Experts have said that the world’s ability to control climate change could be crippled if global leaders do not support clear and effective targets to address deforestation.

At the United Nations Climate Change Negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, this December proposals have come up for key agreements on a global strategy to reduce emissions as a result of deforestation and forest degradation, known as REDD+.

Government negotiators meeting in Cancun are considering several proposals to tackle climate change, including the emissions caused by deforestation and forest degradation, which account for 15 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions.

Gerald Steindlegger, Policy Director of World Wildlife Fund, said reaching an agreement on REDD+ is critical to saving forests, preserving biodiversity, and benefitting people.

This is because an estimated 60 million indigenous people worldwide depend on forests for their livelihoods, and forest resources directly support the livelihood of 90 percent of the 1.2 billion people who are extremely poverty,
“But because a few critical issues are unresolved, there’s a real risk that governments could end up with a REDD+ deal that doesn’t benefit people or the planet. The world’s governments need to ensure they get REDD+ right,” he said.

REDD+ aims to reduce emissions by having developed countries pay developing countries not to destroy their forests.

Trees act as one of the largest storage for carbon on earth and helps to reduce emissions.

Benefits of forest cover is enormous because aside helping to curb climate changes; it reduces the rate of water runoff as well as protects soil erosion.

Because trees transpire large quantity of water and shade to the soil, their destruction often leads to a hotter and dryer climate.

The forest also serves as an avenue for recreational activities and tourist attraction, which go a long way to pump money into the economy of the country.

Removal of trees causes rapid runoff and flooding, which makes oil erosion more rampant.

The constant harvesting of trees along streams and rivers drastically reduces the fish as increased exposure of water bodies to sunlight may negatively affect the fish.

Saving Ghana’s Textile Industry

The textile lane behind the TUC building at the City Business centre is specifically dedicated to African prints and the traders are always trying to attract pedestrians to patronize their wares.

The textiles come in a variety of colures, designs and texture. About 150 million yards of African prints worth $250m are sold in Ghana each year.

The shop of Ama Amoah, a trader is filled with assorted textiles including Real Super Wax, Block Print, Super Real Wax, Imitation Wax, Java and Fancy prints embossed with the labels of known textile companies in the country.

Unsuspecting buyers are lured by the cheap prices of these textiles but they do not know that they are buying stuffs that threaten their lives.

Last week, a task force, made up of officials of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Ghana Standards Board (GSB) and Ghana Police Service destroyed Three-hundred-and-ninety-one full pieces of pirated textiles, worth GH¢200 million which were seized from warehouses and opened markets,.

The pieces of cloth, which were burnt to ashes at the Kpong landfill site, were substandard goods smuggled into the country.

They were pirated textiles with fake patent or registered logos of local manufacturing companies such as the Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL), Ghana Textiles Print (GTP) and Printex which had copied labels of the GS B.

The decision to destroy the pirated fabric was initiated by a taskforce set up by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to curb the importation of pirated Ghanaian textiles.

Before destroying the heap of the textiles which were said to have been imported from China, Anthony Doku, Director of the Research, Planning and Monitoring Department of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, told journalists that the destruction was in line with World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations.

Under the WTO rule, when goods infringe intellectual property rights, trademark, trade name and patent among others, governments are expected to adopt certain special measures to address the issues.

Governments, according to the WTO, should not allow the re-exportation of contraband goods but rather destroy or dispose them off.

The issue of pirating has been identified as a major challenge to the global economy. Governments around the world have used punitive measures to deter both existing and prospective traders from exploiting works that have been done by people through hard work.

“It is incumbent on government to show commitment to protecting and promoting industries and enterprises.

The nation stands to lose a lot if no action is taken,” said Mr Doku.

Prince Arthur, Head of Destination Inspection at the Ghana Standard Boards, explained that examination of the fabrics indicated that they were produced with substandard chemicals.

“They contain the 28 banned chemicals not allowed for the manufacture of textiles such as the CI acid red, CI basic red, CI direct Blue and many others. These chemicals can cause cancer and some skin diseases,” he explained.

Appiah Donyina, chairman of the taskforce, stated that he was convinced that the destruction of such textiles would deter importers from engaging in the business.

He was worried that none of the importers who engaged in the nefarious activities had so far been punished, noting that “They always run away when we track them down.”

On the other hand, Baffour Asare, Chief Collector Preventive, CEPS, explained that in many cases, it was only the drivers of vehicles who transported the pirated fabrics that were arrested and charged for carrying contraband.

In 2005, the then Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen directed that the entry point for all imports of the African prints should be restricted to the Takoradi Port so it could be easy to track the nefarious activities of smugglers who bring in these pirated textiles.

He also directed that the imported African prints, should be subjected to 100 percent physical examination by CEPS and GSB at all entry points.

Industry players welcomed the directive, but unfortunately these directives were ignored and the illicit activities persist to the detriment of the national economy, textile industries and the employees, the union emphasized.

Abraham Koomson, General Secretary of the Textile, Garment and Leather Employers Union, said the drastic decline in operations of the three remaining textile companies would collapse the entire sector.

“When the smugglers are arrested, prosecution becomes a problem and even the products are not destroyed. In Cote d’Ivoire, all the products and their truck vehicles are destroyed.”

Smuggling has escalated in recent times.

Perpetrators have adopted innovative criminal strategies to overwhelm the police.

The once vibrant textile sector of Ghana with textile companies such as Ghana Textiles Manufacturing Company and Tema Textile Limited used to employ 25,000 workers in the 1970s but cheap imports from China which sell at GH¢8, as against local products which sell between GH¢20 and GH¢30 have collapsed the sector.

Sales in the country have declined by between 50% and 75%, as customers buy Chinese copies of locally produced designs.

Mr Koomsoon strongly contended that seized materials should not be sold or auctioned in any way in Ghana, noting that once that was done, it would legitimize the illegal trade.

To him, the flooding of the country with cheap textiles and the high cost of production could force the companies to shut down.

Latter in an interview, distressed John Kwesi Amoah, Assistant Marketing Manager in charge of brand protection at the Akosombo Textiles Limited, a local manufacturing textile company, stated among other things that the importers of the pirated textiles do not only evade taxes on imported textile prints but do not provide adequate labeling information on country of origin.

He noted that based on the price and texture of the print, buyers could distinguish between the substandard and the genuine textiles since the former is cheaper and usually hard while the latter is soft and a little costly.

The wide disparity in the product pricing is due to low energy cost and interest rates as against high cost of raw materials and high interest rates in Ghana. Nevertheless, the Chinese products lack quality and fade quickly.

Since the burning of the pirated fabrics, stakeholders in the local textile industry and well-meaning Ghanaians have appealed to the Minister of Trade and Industry to sustain the exercise and enforce existing laws without delay.

They believe that the nation is on the right track to stopping to the activities of nation-wreckers.

By Emelia Ennin Abbey

So Much Rain, Less To Drink

The Western region is the hub of Ghana’s mining and agric sectors. Tourism is also booming in the area.

Covering an area of approximately 21,391 square kilometres, which is about 10 per cent of Ghana’s total land mass, the region has about 75 per cent of its vegetation within the high forest zone of Ghana
It lies in the equatorial climatic zone that is characterized by moderate temperatures.

The Western region records an average rainfall of 1,600mm per annum. With its lush green hills and fertile soil, farmers in the region provide enough food to feed many Ghanaians.

Cocoa, coffee, rubber among others are mostly grown in the region.

Many small and large-scale gold mines are located in the region. Cape Three Points, which is now prominent on the world map as a result of the recent oil find, is located in the region.

Tourist visit the various parts of the region to catch a glimpse of imposing Portuguese, Dutch, British, and Brandenburgian forts along the coast, which was built in 1512 at the popular village of Nzulezo entirely on stilts and platforms on water.

The first President of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was born at Nkroful in the Western region, which records the highest rainfall in Ghana, but it can not boast of adequate drinking water for its people.

The Ankobra River, Bia River, Pra River in the east and the Tano River on the western national border are unable to solve the perennial water shortage in the region.

Vida Ackah, a 49-year-old woman, lives at Nkroful in her two-bedroom, which according to her, belongs to a maternal aunt with her nine children and elderly husband.

Victoria is faced with the challenge of securing enough water for drinking, cooking, bathing, among others on a daily basis.

She gets up at dawn with her nine-year-old boy to fetch water at the stream or community well.

“During the dry seasons our problems worsen since we walk for long hours in search of water. We return home very exhausted but just the two pans of water is not enough and so we have to try and go about four or five times.”

It is a known fact that the region has had water supply problems for some time now as a result of seawater seepage into its underground water supply, among others.

Water is a basic human necessity that cannot be ignored in this populous area, and the regional office of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency with support from the European Union is adopting various strategies to find lasting solution.

The Small Water and Sanitation Project, the Community Water and Sanitation Agency with support from the European Union (EU), is supporting 20 communities in the Western region.

The project, estimated to cost GH¢43 million, is being replicated in the Central region where 20 communities are being assisted to ensure access to water and improved sanitary conditions in the country’s rural areas.
The project seeks to provide technical support to district assemblies.

It would also encourage communities to construct their own environmental facilities.

A visit to some selected communities in the Central and Western regions revealed that the project was gradually impacting the lives of the people.

There were elevated tanks of varying capacities in all the communities as well as pumps, water treatment plants and standing taps.

Vida, who was about to offer water to visitors, says she now fetches the pipe-born water for drinking and uses water from the river for washing and bathing.

At Adum Banso, Agnes Nsiah, the water board chairperson expressed joy, noting, “This project has rely been beneficial to women and children and it has made life a little easy for us.”

Since the inception of the project, which has led to the construction of 10 pipes in the community, there has been a tremendous reduction in the prevalence of water related diseases
Though getting people to switch from drinking water from traditional river Efuma to hand dug wells in their homes has been difficult, Mrs. Nsaih is confident that “it’s a matter of time.”

People living in Nkroful and Ellembelle are laying pipes to their homes for personal use instead of sharing the community standpipe where an 80-liter bucket goes for Gh5p.

Private water connection to houses and institutions, according to Bismarck Saibi Mensah, an engineer at the Community Water and Sanitation Agency in the Western region is catching on with some people in the communities.

Since the water in the communities has a concentration of salt, the water becomes hard, which makes it impossible to ladder.

The Engineers explained that the water treatment plants have been provided to address the situation.

Abrefa Mensah, Regional Extension Services Specialist of the Western Regional Community Water and Sanitation Agency, implementers of the project, said before the commencement of the project rural potable water supply coverage in the Western region was estimated at 26 per cent.

According to a survey at the end of December 2009, it was discovered that the region’s potable water supply coverage had increased to an estimated 44.20 per cent.

It is however estimated that the on-going projects would increase potable water supply coverage by 12.50 per cent by the end of the year.

Though this would lead to total regional water coverage of 56.70 per cent, Mr Mensah says it is still below the United Nations required 76 per cent under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

However, some regions such as the Upper West, where there is less amount of rainfall through out the year, has the highest water coverage with about 76.34 per cent followed by the Ashanti region (72.14 percent) and Volta (62.63 per cent).

In the Northern region, the water coverage is 60.11 per cent, Greater Accra (59.20 per cent), Upper East (59.19 per cent), Eastern (58.56 per cent), Brong Ahafo (53.61 per cent) and Central (45.10 per cent).

Data available indicates that from 40 per cent in 2000, the national coverage figure rose sharply to 51.7 per cent in 2004 and gradually inched up to the current level of 58.97 per cent at the end of 2009.