Over 80 rural communities to get potable water

Oyibi (G/A), Jan. 21, GNA - Government under the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) programme has designed a pipe water supply system at Sege that would meet the water needs of over 86 communities and villages in the Greater Accra Region.

Alhaji Mustapha Ali Iddris, Works and Housing Minister, who announced this said the system at Sege would tap water from the Volta River for treatment and distribution to about 86,000 people in the communities.

He said the project had been designed to cater for also the needs of areas where quality ground water could not be obtained saying, "I have been informed that, that particular water supply scheme would cost about 3.7 billion cedis."

Alhaji Iddris said these when the visiting Danish Foreign Minister commissioned a three billion-cedi mechanised borehole water project to serve five communities and three educational institutions in the Ga Dangme West.

The communities contributed 130 million cedis towards the project, which started in September last year under the Phase One of the DANIDA assisted CWSA programme for about four regions.

A Demand Responsive Approach Strategy that is directed at communities that want to have, own and manage their own water system would be used to ensure its effective use and maintenance.

Alhaji Iddris said currently another project was being constructed to serve about 7,300 people living in Oyarifa, Teiman and Abokobi.

He called on the beneficiary communities and the respective district assemblies where these projects were to be constructed to make every effort to ensure that the systems were properly maintained. Dr. Per Stig Moller, the Danish Foreign Minister said more ought to be done to increase the number of people who could get potable water because many children in Africa died everyday of water related diseases that could have been prevented.

He said the fact that about a third of Ghanaians were said not to have access to good drinking water and sanitation facilities was a reflection of negative impact on the health of the people.

Dr Moller expressed the hope that with the collaboration between Denmark and Ghana there would a considerable improvement in the quality of life of poor and disadvantaged people in this country.

He announced that the second phase of the project to cover other parts in the Greater Accra, Volta, Eastern, and Central Regions would start this month at an estimated cost of 62 million dollars. 21 Jan. 04