Lydia Seyram Alhassan(2nd right) being briefed by the team
THE MINISTER for Sanitation and Water Resources, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, has paid a working visit to the Kpong and Weija Water Treatment Plants in Accra where she inspected ongoing works on the sites.
The purpose of the visit was also to familiarize herself with progress of ongoing projects while assessing working conditions of staff.
The minister led a team of officials from the Ministry to the Kpong Water Treatment Plant (KWTP) in the early hours of Tuesday where they were welcomed by the Station Manager, Yaw Adjei, who briefed them on activities and working conditions there after taking them on a brief tour round the facility.
The team then departed to the Weija Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) around midday where Production Manager, Ing. Hadisu Alhassan presented detailed activities of the facility as well as challenges facing it.
At the Kpong Water Treatment Plant, the Station Manager, Yaw Adjei, informed the minister and her team that production at the plant currently stands at about 92 million gallons per day, adding that the water from the plant does not contain pollutants, unlike some major water sources in the country due to the menace of illegal mining popularly known as ‘galamsey’, insisting that the water is safe and wholesome for consumption.
Mr. Adjei disclosed that the plant has also undergone some form of expansion and that management is putting in place measures to carry out the phase two of the expansion, explaining that this would increase production levels and ultimately address the increasing demand for water due to increased population.
At the Weija Water Treatment Plant, the Production Manager, Ing. Hadisu Alhassan bemoaned the menace of encroachment along the banks of the Weija Dam and how activities by these encroachers affect the quality of water.
Charles Tulashi, Regional Director, of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), said the issue of encroachment has become a problem that demands urgent actions, adding that the company, and stakeholders are in talks to address it.
Ms Seyram Alhassan, in an interaction with journalists following the inspection stated that with the two plants producing about 2 million gallons of water per day, there is the need to ensure free flow of water to the homes of Ghanaians, a situation that has plagued the plants and Ghanaians for sometime now.
She, however, stated that her office had taken note of the challenges raised by the station managers and assured of her commitment towards addressing them.
On the issue of encroachment, she intimated that her office was considering erecting walls along the banks of the Weija dam but in the meantime, the National Security had come in to help.
She stated that the walls are not just to protect the water plants but also to protect the lives of the encroachers in events of floods.
BY Nii Adjei Mensahfio