Agona Nkum and Odoben residents face water crisis

Residents of Agona Nkum and Agona Odoben have not enjoyed the pipe-borne water for about two years now following the destruction of the main pipe line from Agona Kwanyako Head Works to the two towns.

The pipelines were destroyed during the construction of the road linking Agona Mensakrom and Agona Odoben, which passes through Nkum, under the Ghana Cocoa Board road contracts.

Mr. Kwesi Hammah, the Chairman of the Agona Nkum Akwambo Festival Planning Committee, made this known at a durbar of the chiefs and people to climax the Festival at Nkum in the Agona West Municipality.

He expressed regret that several attempts made by the chiefs, opinion leaders and the Youth Association of the town to get the contractor to repair the pipelines have proved futile.

He said the youth leaders and chiefs went to the Ghana Water Company at Agona Swedru to assess the situation, but were told that the cost involved was huge.

“It was established that the cost of the damage caused during the construction of the road cannot be paid by the residents,” Mr Hammah said.

The water crisis had compelled teachers, school children and food vendors to fetch water from wells and streams in the area.

Mr Hammah said if care was not taken there would be water-borne diseases and cholera outbreak in the town.

“The dry season will soon be here and schools will re-open next week, but the water crisis has not been solved to ensure the safety of the residents,” he said.

He said Agona Odoben, a few miles from Agona Nkum, was suffering the same crisis and appealed to the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources to come to the aid of the residents.

Mr. Robert Oduah, the Assemblyman of Nkum Electoral Area, appealed to the Agona West Assembly to help complete a community center, which had been started by the residents.

He said a development levy of five Ghana Cedis for women and 10 Ghana cedis for men had been imposed on the residents to facilitate the construction of the social centre.

Mr Oduah appealed to the Member of Parliament for Agona West, Mrs Cynthia Morrison, to assist the people of Nkum to build a senior high school and police station to improve on education and reduce insurgent of crimes in the town respectively.

He appealed to the Agona Swedru Divisional Police Patrol to extend the day and night patrols to Nkum to check the rampant theft of fresh cocoa beans and other valuables of residents.