The Eastern Regional Office of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) has observed its 25th anniversary with stakeholders, including customers and students, at Asiakwa in the Abuakwa South Municipality of the Eastern Region. The anniversary was on the theme '25 years of sustaining WASH service: Transforming rural and small towns water services delivery towards national development'. Mr Sampson Atakora, the Eastern Regional Director of the CWSA, said the agency was established by an Act of Parliament, Act 564, in December 1998 with a mission to guarantee the provision of safe water and sanitation services to rural communities and small towns. It also?existed?to encourage water-related sanitation and hygiene practices in Ghana. Mr Atakora, who is an engineer, said CWSA appreciates the external support from agencies that had substantially boosted rural water coverage over the years. Among these partners were the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNIC EF), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Plan International Ghana, he said. He said under the CWSA policy, the Eastern Regional Office was managing 20 water systems out of the 31 were constructed with public funds. These include Akwadum and Nankese, Asiakwa, Asuokaw, Donkorkrom, Akroso, Akim Wenchi, and Maame Krobo. Mr Atakora said CWSA between 2017 and 2023 invested 196 million Ghana cedis of its internal funds on reconstruction, rehabilitation and expansion of dilapidated water supply assets, as well as the setting up of offices for the newly employed Water Systems Management Staff. He said the agency had also made significant progress under a programme called the Technology and Innovation Learning Platform, which was initiated by the management. He listed some initiatives being carried out to drive future growth such as the development of a water quality map that delineates or sets boundaries for saltwater intrusion from the sea and fresh groundwater in the Central Region. Others i nvolved the development of a process of mapping water infrastructure assets electronically; the development of water pollution risk assessment and safeguards for water safety planning; and the development of software applications (Apps) and innovations to simplify their operations. Mr Seth Kwame Acheampong, the Eastern Regional Minister, said the government in collaboration with development partners, had over the years pursued and supported programmes aimed at providing potable water supply systems and sanitation-related facilities to the people as a pre-requisite to their survival and sustainable development. He appealed to the Municipal and District Assemblies and stakeholders to work together to ensure that all water installations at the community level were operated and managed sustainably and provide CWSA with accurate data to avoid duplication of efforts in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector. Veronica buckets, gallons of liquid soap, towel papers, and dustbins were distributed to the Me thodist, Salvation Army, and Roman Catholic schools as part of the anniversary celebration. Source: Ghana News Agency