The Government of Ghana has announced a raft of new legal reforms, infrastructure investments, and enforcement measures aimed at protecting the country’s rivers and ensuring clean, sustainable water for all.
Delivering a keynote address at the launch of World Rivers Day in Accra, Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, Hon. Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, said the government is ready to back its words with concrete action.
“A Legislative Instrument (LI) on Buffer Zones will be enacted to legally protect riparian areas, prevent encroachment and secure river corridors for future generations,” he revealed.
The Minister described the planned measures as a “reset” of Ghana’s water governance system and confirmed that a revised National Water Policy would align the country’s goals with SDG 6, climate commitments and development priorities.
“Laws must not remain on paper. They must bite,” he stressed. “Enforcement will be uncompromising, and offenders who pollute or destroy rivers will face strict penalties.”
On illegal mining, which he described as “the single biggest threat to our rivers,” Hon. Adjei said the fight would intensify, but not through enforcement alone.
“We cannot win this battle by force alone. We must provide hope and opportunity,” he said, outlining plans to support alternative livelihoods for young people currently engaged in illegal mining.
He also announced the Big Push Agenda for Water Infrastructure, which will include expanding and rehabilitating water treatment plants, reducing leakages in the distribution network, and accelerating access to rural water supply in hard-to-reach communities.
“Government will leverage public financing, private sector participation, and blended finance mechanisms to close the financing gap,” the Minister said.
He stressed that Ghana cannot continue with “piecemeal projects” and called for long-term, integrated programming to guarantee resilience.
“Water and climate are inseparable,” he said, adding that “To build resilience, we will promote integrated water resources management, restore degraded watersheds through reforestation, protect wetlands, and develop flood early-warning systems and drought contingency plans.”
