Exploring the institutional barriers to rural water management in Ghana

Framed within policy support for bottom-up community water management in development practice in the global south, this paper explores the institutional barriers that impede effective community management of water infrastructure in water-stressed rural communities in the Upper Manya District and Yilo Krobo Municipality in the Eastern region of Ghana. The study adopted a qualitative research approach, using data collection methods such as in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with local government and community water management committees and participant observation across four communities. The findings revealed that irregular and inadequate monitoring, poor financial auditing and transparency, inadequate technical support, and limited community engagement were the institutional barriers confronting sustainable rural water management. The study argues that in community water management, hybrid models are more likely to work better than models that focus entirely on either top-down or bottom-up approaches since the former can strengthen technical capacity, financial accountability, and the experimentation of infrastructure co-design initiatives. The paper concludes that by addressing institutional lapses in Africa's infrastructural management regimes, rural populations can become part of, rather than left behind, in the global quest to ensure water availability and sustainable water management for all.