The support for investment planning for water security and climate resilient infrastructure (natural and built) began by defining a roadmap. The WACDEP Reference Group supported this effort, and outlined a series of steps/engagements, implemented the same for stakeholder buy-in. A stakeholder mapping analysis identified the relevant institutions to engage for the smooth implementation of roadmap. The WRC led the process of preparing the IWRM investment plan, liaising with the relevant ministries and agencies.
WRC organized a White Volta Basin Board Meeting in August 2014, where GWP presented Investment Plan preparation and update of the IWRM Plan. At the Board meeting, participants decided to establish a wider platform for consultations and follow-ups towards consolidating information and data exchange to enhance ownership of the Investment plan preparation process. Thus, the idea of setting up an investment forum was adopted. Taking a cue from the expansion of the CWP-Ghana Steering Committee to create the WACDEP Technical Working Group at national level, the WVBB was expanded to include other relevant institutions to form the Investment Forum. The Forum included water users, district assemblies (DAs), regulators, data generation, civil society organizations, traditional authorities and development partners.
A background technical report was prepared for the development of the investment plan. The report allowed for assessment of water resources, detailing the issues that confront the sub-sector in the White Volta Basin. A key reference used was the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) tool developed in 2006 by government agencies for the water resources, environment and related sectors with focus on environmental sustainability. In addition, the weighting process was adapted, for which a complementary screening tool was developed and validated at the Investment Forum. This allowed for re-ranking the proposed actions/solutions.
The problems and defined optimal solutions formed the basis for the formulation of investment objectives for the Plan. The objectives were widely disseminated and inputs made for presentation and adoption by the Investment Forum. The objectives, among others, are:
- enhancing coordination, capacity and knowledge exchange for water resource development and management;
- improving knowledge on climate and integrated management of water resources for sustainable utilization;
- and creating climate resilient infrastructure for water resource development and management.
The cost of implementing the IWRM Investment Plan over a 20-year horizon (2015 – 2035) in the White Volta Basin was estimated and projected at 2.4 bln USD. This covers the costs of actions under the prioritized programs. Costing of programs/projects relied on allocation and disbursement data and investment trends for water resources at national and some specific basins and donor support.
There are three main sources of financing water resources and related infrastructure in Ghana:
- public investment budget including Internally Generated Funds (IGF) and water abstraction fees,
- bilateral and multilateral cooperation,
- private sector financing.
Existing financing arrangements were analyzed in the context of strategies for promotion and implementation of the White Volta Basin Investment Plan, and based on three scenarios namely:
- The business-as-usual scenario provided a baseline for financing water security related projects in Ghana. Historic data shows that funding is donor driven. In the last decade, however, low interest loans had replaced grant donor support resulting in improved economic conditions;
- The realistic scenario looked at existing opportunities within the country and external sources to bridge the financing gap between the business-as-usual and the actual project cost/needs for the plan period;
- Thirdly, the optimistic scenario allowed for procurement of sufficient funds to implement the programs/projects.