Abstract

Access to water is a matter of daily survival for people around the world. Water is crucial for human survival and also central to the development of every nation. The recent literature on world water suggests that the water crisis being experienced is related to governance and not a real crisis of scarcity and stress. This paper aims at identifying water governance practices and the challenges associated with water governance in Ghana. The paper reviews the literature on the implementation of policy directives and actions with specific focus on water resources governance aspects of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Ghana. Ghana's National Water Policy is expected to turn the fortunes of the country around in terms of water resources management. Concerning water resources management, the policy advocates for an IWRM approach. Since its implementation, certain setbacks have been challenging the effectiveness of the policy, such as inadequate institutional capacity, inadequate funding, ineffective enforcement of existing regulations, inadequate legal framework, and lack of adequate data. The paper suggests, among other things, the building of both human and institutional capacity, and making the environment a government priority, as ways to contribute to the effective implementation of the National Water Policy.

Conventional community development strategies have focused on the importance of physical, natural, financial, and human capitals. In spite of the emphasis on these in the pursuit of development, a number of community development problems persist. Given the huge evidence that social capital matters in community development efforts, it appears that the missing link in community development is social capital. Yet this has not been adequately explored. This paper explores the role of social capital in the community development planning process. Comparative case study design was used. Two rural communities were selected from the Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Area for indepth study. Interviews were conducted with the principal and assistant Municipal Planning officers and two Principal Community Development Officers from the Municipal Assemblies and the traditional leaders of both communities. Assembly members were used as key informants. Focus group discussions were held with community groups. Forty respondents were randomly selected at the household level and interviewed. The analysis focused on social networks, trust, civic engagement and social norms. It was found that social capital could facilitate the community development planning process by promoting the participation of community members in community activities, increase their ability to work together and engender overall development. There is a correlation between community development and the level of social capital. The paper recommends