Upper West CWSA Promotes Social Accountability

Ato Quansah, Social Accountability Ambassador

Source: Ato Quansah

Extension Services Specialist

Upper West Region

As part of efforts of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) in the Upper West Region to ensure effective implementation of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects, the agency has intensified its social accountability awareness campaign.

The promotion was done during this year's Workers Day Celebration, 1st May, 2013 at Tumu in the Sissala East District under the theme: "Pension, your Duty and Responsibility".

The Regional Director of CWSA, Mr. Worlanyo K. Siabi and Environmental and Social Safeguards Coordinator, Mr. Ato Quansah took time to explain the Social Accountability concept to the workers present.

The concept was particularly explained to the staff of the Municipal and District Assemblies who have monitoring responsibility in WASH projects in their local government areas.

The team used placards with inscriptions such as ‘‘Promote Social Accountability Now’’ and ‘‘Social Accountability is the key enforce it now’’ to create awareness of the concept on the day.  With high curiosity of people to know what Social Accountability is, Mr. Ato Quansah and his team did not hesitate to explain the concept and its significance in the implementation of WASH projects to them.

The team explained that the concept is a citizen empowerment one that enables service beneficiaries to monitor and evaluate service providers at various stages of project implementation.

They further explained that the concept promotes transparency, participation and accountability in project implementation.  The team expounded that the concept gives obligation to service providers to proactively give the service beneficiaries full access to all relevant information and provides a right based entitlement of all affected persons and not just representatives to participate in the process of decision making and validity during project implementation. The CWSA, UWR team explained that the concept is significant at pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation stages of a project.

Mr. Ato Quansah explained that the concepts provide immediate and public answerability of service providers to all concerned and affected person, and on all relevant actions and inactions of service providers. 

“The concept promotes citizen empowerment and community voice by allowing community members to provide feedback, gather evidence, interpret findings and develop solutions to ensure efficiency in project implementation”.

Through the CWSA, UWR strategic awareness campaign on Social Accountability on the day, many workers heard the concept for the first time with indebt understanding backed by their willingness to enforce the concept and to ensure sustainable and effective WASH project implementation in their respective Municipality or Districts.  Many workers applauded the CWSA, UWR team and considered their agenda as a novelty worthy of emulation.

With great solidarity, the CWSA, UWR team celebrated with their colleagues from the Ghana Urban Water Limited (GUWL) who won 2013 May Day awards.