Accra: The Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has presented 10 large water storage tanks to five districts in the Central Region to help alleviate the devastating water crisis that has hit many communities across the region. The tanks were presented to the Gomoa Central, Gomoa West, Gomoa East, Awutu Senya West, and Agona West Assemblies which are considered the hardest hit by the crisis.
According to Ghana News Agency, for many weeks now, taps in many communities in the Central Region have run dry, compelling residents to rely on unsafe water sources, often miles away from home. The situation, induced mainly by illegal mining activities (galamsey), has muddied water bodies and rendered them nearly impossible to treat by the Ghana Water Limited. The situation poses significant health challenges to the affected communities, with women and children being more vulnerable.
Last year, Prof Opoku-Agyemang constructed 10 boreholes for selected districts in the region when a similar situation emerged, and the donation of the tanks furthers her agenda to mitigate the water scarcity. Presenting the tanks on behalf of the Vice President, Mr. Ekow Panyin Okyere Eduamoah, the Central Regional Minister, expressed the government's commitment to dealing with the water situation and its root cause, galamsey.
The Regional Minister noted, "We are expecting more because the Vice President is prepared to give us about 50 of them. In fact, she has asked the contractor to find more places where we can do the boreholes." At the local level, the various Assemblies were working to renovate old boreholes and construct new ones. Special arrangements for Senior High Schools, including tanker services, have been announced to ensure a regular supply of water to them.
Mr. Okyere emphasized President John Dramani Mahama's dedication to the fight against galamsey, highlighting efforts to remove illegal miners from water bodies. "When it rained recently, we noticed some improvement and we are going to sustain that activity across the country to ensure that, not only here, but other parts of the country will be safe from those who are destroying the water bodies," he assured.
The Regional Minister also expressed concern over the lack of water for livestock, a situation that has forced residents and cattle to drink from the same water source in some communities. To address this, he announced plans to engage cattle rearers to identify places where the animals could drink safely. ".when you have a crisis, you have to think about animals too because without them, we cannot live," he said.
Aside from galamsey, the Minister observed that some detrimental farming activities also destroyed the water bodies and called on citizens to be more cautious. He further cautioned individuals alleged to be intercepting and stealing treated water from the Ghana Water Limited of dire consequences.
Madam Margaret Naana Ackom, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Gomoa East, expressed gratitude to the Vice President on behalf of the beneficiary Assemblies and pledged to put the tanks to good use. "We are very much grateful, but we still yearn for more. We wish our mother will send us more of these to fight the water crisis," she said.
At the district level, she stated that frantic efforts were underway to address the situation, using the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) machines to support the various communities without water. In her district, for instance, the Ghana National Fire Service and road contractors were assisting with machines and providing water to mitigate the crisis. Madam Ackom urged the communities to take good care of the tanks to ensure they served them for a longer period.
