Women in queue for portable water
Residents of Sankpala in the Central Gonja District of the Northern Region are facing acute shortage of water which has crippled businesses in the area and also compelled students to stay out of school.
The over 4,000 people depend on a single dam for survival.
Owing to this situation, the residents form long queues in order to fetch water.
The only mechanized borehole in the area has broken down and the two other dams, which are serving the community, have all dried up.
According to residents of the area, sometimes they spend about two days at the borehole site to fetch water for their homes and businesses.
Businesses have been gravely affected by the water crisis.
Food vendors in the area told DAILY GUIDE that they had been out of business for close to a month due to the water crisis in the area.
“We have been forced out of business because of the water crisis. As food vendors water is critical in our duties. The lack of water has gravely affected our business.’
Assembly member for the area, Alhassan Nindo, told DAILY GUIDE that residents, in collaboration with the Assembly, has resolved to contribute GHC20 per household to mobilize funds to repair the broken down mechanized boreholes and also distill the dam.
Alhassan Nindo further revealed that the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area pledged to support the Assembly to repair the mechanized borehole and distill the dams.
Meanwhile, the paper has gathered that the District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area is in talks with some Arabian companies to build more mechanized boreholes in the area to provide a permanent solution to the perennial water crisis in the area.
Some residents of the area called on government to build a dam in the area as part of the implementation of the ‘One Village, One Dam’ policy.
From Eric Kombat, Sankpala