Let the Better Ghana be Even.

Call it partisan and I will gracefully welcome it in good in faith. The fact of the matter is that it has not been easy at all with the people of Cape Coat especially the University of Cape Coast Community. The severity of the current situation in which students of the University of Cape Coast go through is too mind-boggling to be swept under the carpet. You might be wondering what the situation is, it is nothing but the severe water crisis that has befallen Cape Coast Metropolis.

Water has stopped flowing in the taps for more than three weeks today. Most people especially students of the University of Cape Coast wake up as early as 1:00am to go and queue for water from either the wells or those taps that drip like a sick child urinating. The quality of the water tells it all. The water is so turbid that using it to wash is synonymous to dyeing the cloths with clayey soil. Sachet water now sells like hot cakes. Unscrupulous people have once again taken advantage of this booming business to exploit the students by refusing to sell packets of sachet water. They now prefer selling in pieces to maximize profit. The least said about the time spent in getting just a bucket of water to manage for a day, the better.

Indigenes of the area say, even though they have encountered this problem before, the last time it occurred was in the early 1980s. Sources say the main cause of the problem is the drying up of the dam that supplies the Metropolis with water. Even though there used to be mild shortages of water in the Metropolis, this season’s shortage is so acute. The quality of the water that was being supplied was nothing to write home about for years. With better Ghana agenda in action, expectations were that there would be improvement. To the disappointment of the people, the case has rather worsened with a lot of people with cans and containers all over the place in such of nonexistent unsafe water. Is the better Ghana working at all?

Cape Coast is known to be the place with the highest inflation rate and cost of living in Ghana. In terms of high school fees, the University of Cape Coast is second to none among the public institutions in the country. This water crisis has further worsened the plight of inhabitant of the metropolis and students are the hardest hit. Most students now use sachet water for cooking and bathing. So sad!

Place of convenience has become a major problem especially for students who are in the halls of residence. They have filled the sinks of the water closets by shit on shit (SOS) mechanism. No water to flash. Back of the halls and the forests have been turn to places of convenience. The halls are now smelling like public toilets without cleaners.

The fear is that there might be an outbreak of a pandemic. God forbid! End of semester examination officially starts next. Something must be done by the government or the school authority in order not to disrupt the examination process. Already the intermittent power cuts is a problem that the University is grappling with. We are appealing to the government to come to our aid. We also deserve a fair share of the better Ghana agenda.

Nantomah Mustapha. UCC