ABSTRACT
In 2001, against tremendous odds, civil society organizations in Ghana opposed a World Bank-backed project to contract the urban water system to large multinational water corporations. The Ghana National Coalition Against the Privatization of Water (National CAP of Water) successfully interrupted ‘business as usual’ in the world of multinational corporate takeovers of public assets, setting back the timetable for completing the privatization deal for three years running. The water privatization project continues to encounter numerous obstacles, not the least of which is the groundswell of resistance from Ghanaian civil society. Some Ghanaian government officials would like to suspend the privatization scheme and the major corporate water companies have reassessed the terms of their bid proposals. Yet, the World Bank is determined to push the project forward.
