Mechanized borehole commissioned at Jana

Jana, (N/R), June 13, GNA - Mr Jonathan Richardson, Australian High Commissioner in Ghana has commissioned a 16,000 dollar mechanised solar powered borehole for the Jana community in the Savelugu/Nanton District. The provision of the borehole was made possible through the efforts of New Energy, an NGO, and the Savelugu/Nanton District Assembly and with the support of the Australian High Commission.

Water from the borehole would be used mainly for irrigation purposes for dry season gardening due to its salty taste, which has made it unsuitable for drinking.

Commissioning the borehole at a ceremony at Jana on Tuesday, Mr Richardson stressed the importance of water management, saying the world was faced with scarcity of water and it was therefore important for the little that was in the system to be managed efficiently. He said Australia like Ghana was faced with the lack of potable water but was lucky to have experts in the field of water delivery, which she wanted to share with developing countries like Ghana to exploit their water resources.

Alhaji Abubakari Atori, Savelugu/Nanton District Chief Executive, said the District was facing acute water problems, which had led to it becoming the number one guinea worm endemic district in the country. He noted that this had given the District negative publicity and said despite numerous interventions the situations seemed not to be changing and therefore appealed for more assistance in the provision of potable water.

Alhaji Atori said the Assembly was, however, taking measures such as the enactment of bylaws to prevent people infected with guinea worm from entering water sources, while at the same time engaging the services of dam guards to protect water bodies. He said the provision of the mechanised borehole would help reduce poverty through small scale all season gardening and livestock production.