There is an acute water shortage in Ghana.  Some get water flowing once a week (if you're lucky). The water will sometimes come on at night then the whole household gets up to fill every container available.   You see little children half asleep, carrying little pots and pans filled up with water.  Everyone has drums, jerry cans, tanks barrels and underground tanks at home.   Most days you will see people going to work in their suits or uniforms sitting in pickup with large yellow or blue drums on the back or in the boot of their cars. The centre of town (the business centre) has water 80% of the time, so everyday you go in with your containers and bring water home.  This puts the value of water up.  It is more expensive to have a box of 24 bottles of water than a bottle of champagne, taking into consideration the man hours fuel and strength it takes to get the water home.   One thing though, no matter the task of getting water, Ghanaians will always have their twice daily bath (not in a bath tub) but shower or bucket.

There are many queues for water all over town and you see both men and women out early in the morning, by early I mean 4am, carrying buckets on their head for their precious water.  Wells are being dug at the homes of those who can affort it but it is not enough.

The most common scene is the farming tractor with a square tank built behind it delivering water (popularly known as "tu tu tu" )- which you have to buy of course.  They all have mobile phones and deliver on demand.  They are a mafia of water deliverers and can refuse to deliver if your attitude is not to their liking but usually there is another one nearby if you are lucky.  I have driven 10 miles across town looking for them sometimes.  When there is a complete shortage they they are in heaven 'cos no matter what, you will pay the price they ask.  I must say though, that they  have an unofficial union that sets the prices they should charge and it seems to work.

Where I live the pipes have not seen water flowing through them in over 8 years. I always buy water every two weeks to fill my tank which is connected to my house and drink bottled water.  The water company seems to be able to sell to the water deliverers but can't get the water through the pipes - with the excuse that the towns are expanding, and the pipes not enough to let the water flow everywhere.

I read somewhere that one day wars would be fought , not over oil, but over water and looking at the situation in Ghana, I can believe that.  My advice to those in countries where water is always flowing and to those who complain when it goes off for 30 minutes, or those who face the hosepipe ban, be thankful for what you've got, think of how you can conserve water and maybe how to purify and desalt seawater and believe the hype - water will disappear one day.  Then it will be "Water, Water everywhere but not a drop to drink", especially for those surrounded by the sea - Even with all this Wahala"  (problem) I still love GHANA