Farouk Braimah, a leading expert on urban governance and sustainable development, delivered a hard-hitting presentation at the MOLE XXXV Conference, spotlighting the impact of politics on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) delivery in urban Ghana. His analysis, rooted in research being promoted by the African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC) which is a collaborative research programme, seeking to tackle complex urban development challenges in the continent’s rapidly changing cities.
Braimah’s presentation delved into the structural weaknesses in Ghana’s decentralized governance system, which was intended to devolve power to local authorities. However, this devolution according to Braimah has mimicked national politics to produce contestations and power configurations that needs to be understood. “Political loyalty, not competence, dictates the appointment of mayors,” Braimah explained. This practice, entrenched in political clientelism, has eroded long-term planning and policy implementation at the municipal level. Local authorities, often more concerned with serving the interests of the political elite than the needs of their constituents, fail to deliver essential WASH services to informal settlements that are home to millions of Ghanaians.
Using the solid waste management as an example in the city of Accra, he highlighted how the power relationships between various actors dictate the character and actual functioning of institutions, and also whose interests are translated into policy and practice. “The formal operators, backed by legal contracts, have an upper hand, but they cannot address all the waste management challenges in the city,” he said. “Yet, informal waste workers, despite playing a critical role, are treated as illegal competitors, often harassed or even arrested for operating in certain areas.”
Braimah noted that the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has begun making strides toward integrating informal waste workers into the city’s formal waste management system. Since 2016, AMA has implemented programs to register and train informal waste workers, and even included clauses in formal contracts that encourage cooperation between private contractors and informal operators. “These are important steps, but more needs to be done to ensure that these informal operators are treated as partners, not threats,” Braimah stressed.
Braimah’s presentation also explored the broader governance issues that hamper WASH delivery in urban Ghana. He argued that the centralized control of local government authorities, particularly the appointment of mayors by the President, stifles local accountability and responsiveness to the needs of urban residents. “Mayors are appointed for their loyalty to the ruling party, not for their expertise or commitment to development,” he said. “This leads to poor decision-making and limited accountability, particularly in addressing the needs of marginalized urban populations.”
He called for stronger reform coalitions and mobilised citizens that bring together diverse stakeholders—citizens, local government agencies, civil society groups, and political elites—to address the WASH crisis. This coalitional approach, he argued, would ensure the continuity of reforms across political transitions and build consensus on long-term strategies to improve WASH services. “If we are to make any headway in achieving equitable and sustainable WASH delivery in cities like Accra, we need a political commitment that transcends election cycles and prioritizes the needs of all urban residents, particularly those living in informal settlements.”
The MOLE Conference is one of the longest running and biggest multi-stakeholder annual platforms in the WASH sector in Ghana. It draws stakeholders from government, policy and decision makers, practitioners, academia and CSOs in the WASH sector. The conference this year brought together over 200 participants and was beamed live across different media platforms in the country Braimah’s presentation underscored the need for All- of-Government (AoG) approach, greater elite commitments and enhanced state capacity, as the preferred approach for addressing what the WASH sector actors describe as the age old challenge of inadequate prioritisation of WASH service delivery in the country.
As Ghana continues to urbanize, the issues raised by Braimah and other experts at the MOLE XXXV Conference will be crucial in shaping the future of WASH policy and governance in the country in the face of climate exigencies.
