In about five months from now the acute water problem facing residents of some 15 communities in the Ketu District of the Volta Region will be a thing of the past. This is because of an on-going Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) assisted project which, when completed, would serve the invaluable needs of the people.
The news was broken last week at Denu when the Chronicle went on its regular tour of the districts exercise. The District Chief Executive Hon. Linus Codman Koffie, who took this reporter round some of the sites, said to make the project more of a "people's property" the Danish government made it a condition that each benefiting community must raise five percent of the total cost of bringing potable water to their doorsteps.
The communities spread broadly accross the Klikor, Somey Wego and Somey Fugo Area Councils are beneficiaries of a nearly ?7billion rural supply scheme. Some of them are Nogokpo, Glidzi, afuta, Avloto, Salakope, Adina, Blekusu, Agavedzi, Agbodokepe, Dogbefeme and Klikor.
Briefing the Chronicle on the essence of the assistance programme, Hon. Koffie said as a result of water scarcity in the area socio-economic activities have come to a virtual halt because of the several man hours spent daily in hunting for that "essential commodity."
He finds the Danish assistance a source of great relief to the assembly in particular and the Ghanaian government in general.
For his part, Mr. Rockson Dogbega, Managing Director of Berock Ventures Limited, the main construction firm undertaking the project, believes all things being equal work will finish by the end of the fifth month from the day of the interview.
Mr. Rockson said the treated borehole which involves the laying of direct lines and the erection of stand pipes to be opened and closed like any other normal tap is 75 per cent complete, and was confident of the time frame given him.
He assured the district of quality work deserving of the contract sum and hoped the benefiting communities would preserve and protect the equipment.
On the environment, the DCE said he had no problem with bush fires which he thinks have been brought under total control with the co-oporation of the traditional and clan heads.
He however admited that sanitation is becoming more of a headache to him because most of the towns have over-grown their rural status into urban ones.
Commenting further, Hon, Koffie said with 238,000 people Ketu District it is undisputably the most populous of all the 12 districts in the region, hence the high rubbish generation, and argued that Aflao, Denu, Dzodze and Agbozume can be likened to Madina in the Greater Accra Region in terms of human traffic and sees no reason why they should not be provided with refuse containers as elsewhere.
He promised to impress upon officials of the Local Government Ministry to give sanitation in the district a priority consideration since it is the eastern gateway to and from the country.
Concluding the chief executive said he was going to wage what he called "a relentless war" against careless driving in the district.
He specifically mentioned articulated truck drivers who pass to load cement from the Diamond Cement Company in Lome, saying, "their attitude on the roads is giving me cause of great concern, and I think it is time to stop the madness on our highways."
