The Business Development Manager of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Nana Akwasi Agyapong has warned that the pervasiveness of corruption in the water sector has necessitated anti-corruption initiatives to raise awareness about its negative effects globally. He said the United Nations report on water cited corruption as the primary reason why clean drinking water remains unobtainable for 1.1 billion people globally. He quoted Transparency International's chairperson in on of the recent workshops saying "the management of the world's water must be as transparent as this precious natural resource in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals of halving the number of people without access to drinking water by 2015". He said because of corrupt practices in the water sector, many communities have been deprived of having access to good drinking water. He said a fact-finding mission on water and sanitation sector reform in Ghana indicate that, more than one billion people globally lack access to clean and affordable water and approximately 2.4billion people lack access to proper sanitation services. He has cautioned that unless there is transparency in the awarding of contracts at the water company, there would be continuous loss of revenue to the sector. "The awarding of contract in the water company sector must be transparent as water itself so that we can get more investment going to that sector which would in turn put the economy in a good posi¬tion", he noted. In an exclusive interview with The Business Chronicle in Accra last Wednesday, Nana Agyapong indicated that the water company does not have the resources to lay pipes in the various communities thus they should rather focus on the delivery of clean water which he thinks they are in a better position to tackle better. He said the laying of pipes and other works in that sector should be awarded on contract basis to corporate bodies or individuals who tender for the award but this process must be transparent. "Aid money for water sector development, which has the potential to save 4,000 lives each day, must be used effectively. Otherwise, we'll be dipping in dry and dirty wells hoping to avert illness, dehydration and lost crops". He noted. He said over 2milIion people mostly women and children die annually from diarrhoea diseases related to lack of access to clean water. "Water as we all know constitute an essential component of man. Therefore any shortage or unavailability endangers the existence of man. In other-words the survival of mankind largely depends on the availability and regular water supply". Nana Agyapong noted that available statistics at his disposal cite access to treated water at 62-70 percent in urban areas and 35-40 percent in rural areas. He indicated that only 40% of the population has water taps that is flowing. 78 percent of the poor in the urban areas do not have tap water. He cited Adenta, a surburb of Accra as an example of an area seriously confronted with water problems. Nana Agyapong stressed "that corruption which has become a canker in awarding of contracts should be dealt with seriously as it was hampering the progress of the country. He said corruption has led to low productivity and that was a potential source of poverty. He continued that corruption constrains investment and retards growth. He explained that when investors are asked for bribes before setting up enterprises, this becomes a tax to them and discourages investments. He argued that without investments, economic growth is retarded as jobs will not be created and social amenities will not develop. Source: The Business Chronicle