Sibi residents hunt for water

Sibi, a farming community in the Nkwanta North District of the Oti Region, has its residents living without water for some months now.

The community with a population of over seven thousand walks for one and a half miles to Kpassa the district capital to search for water whilst others walk to Damanko to get water from the Oti river.

According to them, the protocol of washing hands has not been observed due to the situation. The veronica bucket distributed by the assembly and other stakeholders has been empty for months.

The most affected ones are pregnant women, kids and students. Last week one was bitten by a snake whilst a pregnant woman delivered on their way to search for water.

It will not be surprising if Some private schools close down because students and teachers can’t get water to bathe and report to school on time. As it stands now, government schools have also changed their reporting time from the usual and the closing time as well to enable the students to search for water.

Speaking to the District Chief Executive officer of Sibi, Jackie Jackson, said the situation at Sibi has been like that for a long time and in his time as the DCE, the assembly has drilled numerous taps but the land has no water to be mechanized.

He added the assembly is working on other alternatives to get the people of Sibi water.

Meanwhile, in 2009/2010 the government constructed and commissioned Kpassa – Damanko water project which supplies residents in the district with water during dry seasons.

For about four years now the pipelines have broken, ever since the people living in Sibi have been hunting for water during dry seasons including the capital Kpassa.

The Member of Parliament MP John Bless who prior to the 2020 election worked on getting them water has remained silent on the issue now.