The politics of urban water reform in Ghana1

Author: Whitfield, Lindsay

Source: Review of African Political Economy, Volume 33, Number 109, September 2006 , pp. 425-448(24)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

This article highlights the interaction between the domestic political system and the aid system in Ghana and the implications of this interaction for democratic governance. It is illustrated using the example of urban water reform as a case study of the policymaking process and captures the complexities of this interaction which the `choiceless democracy' thesis fails to do. The term `aid system' refers to all aid organisations and their regular operations within a specific country, where aid organisations include both official bilateral and multilateral agencies as well as international NGOs. The article examines the government's plan for water privatisation and the public debate and opposition that it continues to generate. The politics of urban water reform is revealing about the politics of economic reform more generally. This article is based on a chapter of the author's doctoral dissertation (Politics, 2005, University of Oxford).

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03056240601000812

Publication date: 2006-09-01