Stop making expensive jokes with water - Sanitation Minister cautions

As part of measures to ensure that Ghanaians get access to potable water to practice safety precautionary measures in the fight against Coronavirus, the Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Dapaah has cautioned Ghanaians to judiciously make use of scarce water available.

She said as the period demands, there has been a surge in the demand for water but some Ghanaians have taken undue advantage to make unnecessary jokes.

The minister’s caution comes after a Ghanaian social media influencer became the subject of radio discussions for reportedly capturing himself wasting water.

While explaining the president’s directives as regards to the provision of free water for Ghanaians, the minister advised that this is the appropriate time to jump on social media trends aimed at wasting water and other scarce resources in this period.

“We are all encouraged to use water judiciously…There’s a video going round whereby a grown-up man is lying in a bowl with tap running and this is a bad example. I think we should avoid all such expensive jokes and make sure we do the right thing by following the full protocol of the WHO. This water is being made free because the President knows the importance of water in these critical times…,” she said in her address at the Minister’s press briefing Tuesday, April 7, 2020.

Mrs Cecilia Dapaah also clarified further interventions by government to cushion the water burdens of Ghanaians in this period, including the provision of free water in this period.

She noted that water tankers will be installed at vantage areas in both rural and urban centres across the country.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in his 5th address to the nation, announced government’s decision to absorb water bills of all Ghanaians for three months.

The president directed all water tankers (publicly and privately owned) to ensure that there is constant water supply all vulnerable communities.