According to residents, the last time water flowed through their taps was about 8 months ago
Residence of Bamvum, a suburb of Tamale is predominantly a farming community in the Tamale South Constituency of the Northern region. The community over the years have been battle with water crises for the past eight years and several calls to the member of parliament for the area, MP for Tamale South and Minority Leader of parliament, Haruna Iddrisu have all proved futile.
The increase in population in the area over the past few years has led to an upsurge in the demand for portable water within the community and the lack of other social amenities.
Though it is part of the Tamale metropolis and in the Tamale South Constituency, the community lacks dependable source of drinking water. The few houses with access to installed taps for several year have never had supply of pipe borne water run through them.
According to some of the residents, the last time water flowed through their taps was about 8 months ago. This has compelled them to rely on the only dam serving the community. The people struggle with animals to access water from the dam.
The animals pollute the water leaving the residents in fear of contracting water borne diseases. The situation becomes worst during dry season. Some of the people resort to using sachet water for bathing and other domestic uses.
"The water issues in this community during dry season is appalling. We normally harvest water during rainy seasons. But, when it finishes, we suffer so much. Because we have to rely on takers from town. And it is a financial burden on us", one resident said.
"More to the point, it is the only source of water for the animals in the community. And when these animals come into the water, they defecate and urinate inside, making it unhygienic", but we have no other option. he added.
"When the situation becomes critical, we have to struggle before we can even get the water from the dam. And when we get home, we have to treat it with allume before we can use it prepare food and drink", a female resident said.
The assemblyman for the area, Alhaji Mutala Kwame confirmed the plight of the people, when radio Tamale contacted him, but, said he has done his best find a lasting solution to the problem. And added it water crisis in the area predates his election as assemblyman for Bamvim.
"Two (2) years back, the dam dried up. And for God being so good, the mayor of Tamale visited us. And when we complained to him, he gave us 8, 000 Ghana cedis to fix the problem. So we used it to expand the dam. I had to source for different money to complete the project. So we could rely on it whiles finding a way to get pipe water", he said.
"Before I became assemblyman for Bamvim, the water problem was already in existance. I had to contact Ghana Water Company Limited (GWC) for an estimate of materials to fix the problem. Which was 3,000 Ghana cedis, the water didn't flow for long and stopped", Alhaji Mutala added.
The Assemblyman however called on the member of parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu to support in resolving the water problem in the area.
