Demand Responsive Approach (DRA): A Neoliberal Approach for Rural Water Delivery and Management in Ghana

Abstract

Demand Responsive Approach (DRA), adopted as a national policy for rural water supply delivery in Ghana is an attempt, within a decentralized programme to improve the efficiency of service delivery. The World Bank, through its assistance to the water sector in Ghana based its argument on division of responsibilities in the water sector where public institutions are deemed more appropriate for managing water in a larger geographical area (urban setting) while the small geographical area (rural and small/towns) facilities are to be managed by the community. The effects neoliberal policies of the major International Financial Institutions (IFIs), particularly the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on social and political conditions in Africa have been the subject of extensive debates. Though these policies have restored some level of sanity at the macroeconomic level, it has come at a high social cost due to the fact that most vulnerable groups have been adversely affected both directly and indirectly by measures such as the withdrawal of subsidies on social services such as water, retrenchment of labour, and the general increases in prices of goods or services. A common feature in Ghana is turning water, which hitherto was accessed free or at highly subsidized rates, into a marketable commodity where cost recovery principles are applied. This paper provides insight into DRA as a neoliberal approach for rural water management in Ghana.