The people of Kwabenya in the Greater Accra Region will now breathe a sigh of relief after several years of enduring the situation of unavailability of portable water.
The Chief of the area, Nii Abbey Okanfra III has commissioned five (5) mechanized borehole projects for the people to help resolve water scarcity in the communities including the Zongos.
Nii Abbey Okanfra III apart from providing the communities with water, is also giving the people five months free water.
Residents are to enjoy the water from these boreholes for five months without paying.
“I am also giving my people free water for five months starting from March 5 to July 5, 2021,” he said.
Speaking at the ceremony to cut tape for handing over of the facilities to the communities, Nii Abbey Okanfra III said the constriction of the facilities are part of his service to his subjects.
According to him, Kwabenya has been without portable water for a long time and the situation has brought untold hardships and inconveniences to his people.
Nii Abbey Okanfra III said, he could not continue to sit aloof and watch his people suffer, hence he decided to use his own resources to construct the boreholes for the people.
He averred that, he had met the Management of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), who gave expert advice and guidelines on the construction of the facilities and that what he is handing over to the people are of standard.
In Ghana, nearly three million people rely on surface water to meet their daily water needs, leaving them vulnerable to water-related illness and disease.
Nii Abbey Okanfra III said the drinking water supply and sanitation sector in Ghana faces a number of challenges, including very limited access to sanitation, intermittent supply, high water losses and low water pressure.
According to him, lack of clean drinking water and sanitation systems is a severe public health concern in Ghana and Kwabenya, contributing to about 70% of diseases and that due to unclean water and improper sanitation, Ghana has 1,000 children under five years old dying each year from diarrhea, caused by polluted water.
He mentioned that, with the available data, he deemed it fit to provide his people with clean potable water to save them from diseases and any kind of illness that are associated with drinking of unclean water.
He expressed gratitude to the Kwabenya Queen mother, Naa Kokoi Dugbatey II for her support in ensuring that the project took off and completed as scheduled.
He also urged the community people to take very good care of the facilities.
By Prosper Agbenyega