GNPC commissions 40 boreholes in northern region

The GNPC Foundation has commissioned 40 newly constructed boreholes for some districts in the Northern Region to help provide the people with safe drinking water.

The beneficiary districts included Central Gonja, North Gonja, Savelugu, Mamprugu Moagduri, Tatali/Sanguli, Tamale, Bunkprugu Yunyoo, West Mamprusi, Nanton, Gushei, East Mamprusi and Tolon districts.

The 40 bore holes were commissioned at Kanshegu, one of the beneficiary communities, in the Savelugu municipality.

Dr Dominic Eduah, the Executive Director of GNPC Foundation, said the Borehole Project was one of many interventions under the GNPC's Environment & Social Amenities module aimed at providing basic amenities to deprived communities.

He said GNPC Foundation in 2018, set before it a mandate to construct 100 boreholes across the country; 40 of which were in the Northern region, 10 each in the Upper East and Upper West regions, 20 in the Western region with the remaining 20 sited among needy communities across Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and the Central regions.

"Today, 40 communities in the Northern Region would no longer endure a difficult life without a decent source of water; bidding ‘goodbye’ to their reliance on polluted streams and other unwholesome sources of water, which had for many years led to health complications", he said.

Dr Eduah said GNPC Foundation recognized the continuous efforts of government and other stakeholders to provide sustained developmental projects in every corner of the country.

He said GNPC was committed to playing its part by seeing through its Corporate Social Investment (CSI) programmes; honouring its social contract with the people of Ghana especially at this time when the Corporation was actively present in the Voltain area where studies were currently underway to establish the presence of oil in commercial quantities.

He advised the beneficiary communities to own the borehole facilities and put them into good use by maintaining and taking good care of the facilities. Hajia Ayishetu Seidu, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Savelugu commended the GNPC foundation for their efforts in complementing government's efforts by helping to improve on the livelihood of the people of Savelugu and urged them to do more in other communities for them to also benefit.

She, however, said communities in the district still faced lots of challenges such as infrastructure deficits in some schools, thereby, resulting in some school children lying on the bare floor to learn and called on the GNPC for support.

Naa Amadu Mahama, the Chief of Kanshegu assured the GNPC Foundation that the people of Kanshegu would make good use of the facilities provided but, however, appealed to GNPC to help repair existing boreholes in the community that had broken down to help reduce pressure on the newly constructed borehole in the community.

Mr Abdul Somed Gunu, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Savelugu municipality appealed to the GNPC to extend its scholarship scheme to the district to help sponsor brilliant but needy students to reduce the rate of school dropouts in the municipality.

Mr Salifu Saeed, the Northern Regional Minister commended the GNPC for investing in the North and providing support to improve on the livelihoods of the people as well as creation of job avenues for the people in the region.

He encouraged and urged more investors to come and invest in the region since it possessed a lot of untapped natural and mineral resources that could go a long way to promote economic growth and development in the country.