Water projects commissioned in Central, Eastern regions

The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), with support from the Ghana National Gas Company, has commissioned limited mechanised water supply projects in some communities in the Central and Eastern regions to enhance the supply of potable water.

The GH¢2 million project which started in May 2021 included geophysical investigations and site selection, borehole drilling and construction, mechanisation of boreholes, construction of pump houses, laying of distribution lines and the construction of standpipes.

The projects would provide potable water access to 11,315 residents in the various communities in the two regions. The beneficiary communities in the Central Region are Assin Amoakrom in the Assin-North District, Otsenkorang in the Agona-West District, Obohen and Odonase in the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese District and Abowinum, Badukrom, Okuadze and Nkwantakesedo in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam District.

In the Eastern Region, 3,800 residents in beneficiary communities including Addo-Nkwanta and Pupuni in the Abuakwa South and Asougyaman districts will have clean water. Last Thursday, a ceremony was held to symbolically commission all the water projects. The occasion was also used to mark 25 years of CWSA.

The Chief Executive Officer of CWSA, Aloysius Adjetey, who commissioned the projects, said, “Community Water and Sanitation Agency, in its quest to ensure the sustainability of the water schemes, has mandated nearby water staff to provide oversight responsibilities for sustainable management of the facilities.”

He said CWSA was adequately positioned to sustain wash interventions, with responsibility for the provision and management of community water systems while providing support in the management of water-related sanitation services.

He said the activities of CWSA had significantly improved water supply in rural communities and urged stakeholders to work with the CWSA to ensure the projects were sustained.

Mr Adjetey observed that since the establishment of CWSA, access to water supply in rural communities and small towns in Ghana has improved across the country through partnership and donor support.

He disclosed that the agency had dug 2,195 boreholes across the country to show its commitment towards strengthening partnerships to increase and sustain investments in improving water infrastructure to reduce the financial burden on the government.

He stressed the need for the Odonase community and its environs, as well as other beneficiary communities, to be vigilant in ensuring the projects were protected by assisting the CWSA to protect the components, especially the pipelines, and to prevent deliberate sabotage by persons who may illegally cut the pipelines in an attempt to connect water to their farmlands and homes.

Contribution

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese, Willi Evans Obiri Awuah, lauded the immense contribution of Ghana National Gas Company to national development, as well as to the CWSA towards the provision of potable water to the various communities in the Eastern and Central regions.

The Manager at the Corporate Social Responsibility Department of Ghana National Gas Company, Edomgbole Anyimah Nwiah, said water was crucial to the well-being of every community and expressed the company’s commitment to contributing to the delivery of potable water and sanitation for the people of Ghana.

He assured that Ghana Gas would continue support in the area of sports, education and health across the length and breadth of the country. The Odikro of Odonase, Nana Kojo Egyam VII, on behalf of the beneficiary communities, thanked CWSA and Ghana Gas for the project, saying it would go a long way to improve the residents’ quality of life.

The queenmother of Odonase, Obaahemaa Ntsifuah, called on Ghana Gas company to help the Odonase community by constructing a vocational school for the community.