READ ALSO:

• Finance Minister urges Parliament to support 2025 budget estimates
• Students with Special Needs welcome free tertiary education policy

The company has acknowledged the difficulties and reiterated its commitment to restoring normal supply as soon as possible.

Several areas, including Tamale, Bimbilla, Kasoa, and Ho, have endured severe water shortages for weeks, significantly disrupting daily activities.

In Ho, the situation has become particularly dire, placing immense pressure on essential institutions such as hospitals and prisons, which have been forced to seek alternative sources of water to maintain operations.

In an interview with Accra-based Channel One TV, the Communications Manager, Stanley Martey, reassured residents that efforts were underway to resolve the crisis. For residents in Ho, Mr. Martey promised a stable water supply within a week, stating that the company was working tirelessly to normalise the situation nationwide.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused, but as we have stated, we are working around the clock to restore supply. By the end of the week, we expect the situation to improve within the municipality,” he stated.

He further revealed that a spare water pump had been treated and was on standby, with another expected to be installed by Thursday. However, Mr. Martey warned against water theft, stressing that such actions worsen the crisis for other residents.

“We urge people to refrain from stealing water so that the limited supply can be distributed fairly. This will ensure that as many residents as possible have access to water and can sustain themselves during this difficult period,” he advised.

ALSO READ:

• Ho water crisis: Ghana Water Limited defers restoring supply

• Ho Water Crisis: Cost of expanding water pump will be about $52m – Regional…

This follows a fault in one of the pumps at the Kpeve Water Headworks on the eve of the new year, affecting water supply to the regional capital.

The situation has also affected water supply to other areas, including Peki, Have, Bame, Akrofu, Ziavi, and Klefe.

On Thursday (January 2), the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in a statement assured that the emergency response team was working tirelessly to repair the fault and restore water supply as soon as possible.

As of Saturday morning (January 4), some of the wells from which the people drew water, had dried up, compounding the problem.

The company’s engineers from Tema and Kpong are said to have joined their colleagues in the Volta Region to help to fix the problem.

The situation has also affected the operations of chop bars and other businesses, as the town has virtually dried.

Some residents near Sokode-Lokoe, including men, women and children, as of Saturday morning, were running to the premises of a bagged water company to fetch the waste water running through the drain.

Others travelled to nearby villages with jerry cans, in hired vehicles, to scoop water from muddy and drying streams.

Several attempts by Graphic Online to contact he authorities of GWCL in the past few days have turned fruitless.

The major health facilities in the regional capital are now relying on their reservoirs for water.

Meanwhile, public outcry over the situation is soaring.

Workers at the water company say they will resist any attempts to strip them off a property they claim to have owned for over five decades.

For almost three days, water consumers in the Ashanti region were left stranded in search of alternative water sources.

The water company in the region shut down operations after private developers pulled down structures on a land, they lay claim to own.
But following a meeting with management, workers of the Ghana Water Limited in Ashanti temporarily suspended their strike.

The workers union highlighted management’s swift and decisive action to secure the property under threat and ensure justice for the illegal demolitions.

Workers’ Representative on the Board of the Ghana Water Limited, Ing Dr. Hadisu Alhassan, explains reason for the suspension.

However, the workers threaten to boycott services should the encroachers lay ‘siege’ again.

“The suspension is motivated by management’s assurances to address the grievances that prompted the strike, particularly issues surrounding the recent unlawful demolition of the residence of Chief Managers in the Ashanti Region and escalating threats to Ghana Water Company Limited’s (GWCL) properties,” he said.

In 2022, the Government released a portion of state lands at the Ridge Residential Area in Kumasi to the Asantehene.

JoyNews checks reveal the said property form part of the 200 bungalows on the 400 acres of land expected to be relocated.

But the workers claim not to be in the know of any formal communication for relocation.

“The union also pointed out that while negotiations regarding land related disputes were held with the Lands Commission (LCC), Ghana Water Company Limited, which has been the custodian of the lands for over 50 years, was not involved in the process,” Ing Dr Alhassan said.

Meanwhile, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission is advising the water company to use appropriate channels to address challenges without punishing consumers.

Until a lasting solution is found to the situation, water consumers in the region will again suffer the consequences of the impasse.

The interruption is due to a burst in the transmission line from the Kpong Treatment Plant to the Dodowa Booster Station, a statement from the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) said.

The affected areas include Dodowa, Oyibi, Frafraha, Adenta, Madina, Ashongman, Haatso, La, Osu, Kanda, Airport Residential Area, Legon, and surrounding communities.

The statement, signed by Mr Stanley Martey, Chief Manager, Public Relations and Communications, GWCL, said after repair work was completed, further issues were identified on the same transmission line, necessitating a second shutdown.

Engineers of the GWCL, the statement said, are working tirelessly to replace the weak section of the transmission line.

The Company assured the public that supply would resume by the close of Wednesday, August 28, 2024, barring any unforeseen challenges.

In the interim, GWCL has implemented measures to mitigate the impact on affected areas, the statement said.

Essential service providers, including hospitals and schools, the Company noted, are being supplied with water through tankers.

The management, therefore, expressed regret for the inconvenience and pleaded with consumers to bear with the situation.

Source: GNA

ALSO READ:

Otumfuo destools three chiefs over ‘galamsey’

Fire guts parts of JOB 600 building [Video]

Teachers trained as advocates to combat gender-based violence in schools

Consequently, the Barekese Water Treatment plant and the Achiase Booster in the region have been shutdown to enable repairs.

This was contained in a newsletter from the Ghana Water Limited (GWL) in the region.

Areas expected to be affected include Suame, Tafo/Pankrono, Asokwa, Bantama, Sokoban, Kronum, Barekese, Manhyia, Oforikrom, Kwadaso, Atasamanso, Kotwi, Adum, KNUST, Odoum, Asokore Mampong, and surrounding areas.

The transmission line is reported to have been perforated by the equipment of a contractor constructing drains from the Suame roundabout to Breman Ahenful.

Management of the GWL says their engineers are working assiduously to repair the line and resume operations as early as practicable.

“Management assures the public that engineers are working around the clock to ensure repairs are completed as soon as practicable and supply will resume immediately works are completed,” portions of the statement read.

The residents have revealed they have for the past three months been experiencing water shortage, while attempts to seek redress have been fruitless.

“It’s been troubling us. We have children who attend school, and in the morning, we have to travel a considerable distance to fetch water before they can prepare for school. That worries us greatly.

“Moreover, when we return from work, there’s no water. You open the tap, and it doesn’t flow. When you complain, they acknowledge there’s a problem, but they don’t disclose the actual issue,” a resident expressed frustration in an interview with Accra-based Citi News.

They added that, their predicament has been brought to the attention of the Assembly member but they are yet to see any action.

“We complained to the Assembly Member here, and she said she would look into it. Later, she confirmed to us that they reported a problem somewhere, one of their machines is broken down. We went to the waterworks, and they said they would come and fix it but haven’t done so. We need water. If there’s a problem with the pump, they need to replace it,” they noted.

ALSO READ:

• We are sorry – GWCL tells consumers over water shortage [VIDEO]

• MPs make strong appeal to govt over water shortage in Tamale

The pipelines were disconnected to make way for the construction of the Kasoa-Winneba Cape Coast Highway.

However, according to the MCE, the dire situation has led to acute water shortage in the area with residents resorting to the use of contaminated water for daily chores.

“My people are crying, some fetch water from broken pipes, I believe it’s even a gutter they fetch the water from. Almost a month they don’t have water,” he said in an interview on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem Tuesday.

Hon. Zubairu also claimed that there was no consultation with the Assembly before contractors began the destruction of roadside shops hence, the Assembly had to intervened to relocate affected individuals.

“There was no recourse to the Assembly when the contractors came in but when they began to break down people’s shops by the roadside, the assembly had to come in. So I took it upon myself together with my team to find relocation for the affected people.”

The MCE further revealed his unsuccessful attempts to contact the company and the Central Region Ghana Water for assistance.

“The problem is you won’t find the head of the company. I had chased them for more than a month until yesterday when I was told cars were spotted. If you ask, they say they are not in charge so you have to salvage your people yourself. I have called the central region Ghana Water but to no avail.”

He emphasized the urgency of repairing the damaged pipes to alleviate the suffering of his constituents.

READ ALSO:

• FULL VIDEO: Kwame Sefa Kayi addresses key national issues on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show

• Samson’s Take: Breaking news – CJ, 2 judges ‘lock up’ Anas…[Judgment]

• Why Kwame Sefa Kayi doesn’t want to be an MP will shock you [Listen]

It comes as some parts of the Greater Kumasi Metropolis struggle to access water following water shortfalls in the region.

The company had in an earlier statement revealed the intermittent water supply in the metropolis was as a result of unstable power supply to the Barekese and the Owabi Treatment Plants and the Achiase Booster stations.

The two plants are the sole reservoirs distributing water to the majority of households in the Greater Kumasi Metropolis.

But in an interview with JoyNews, Public Relations Officer of GWL-Ashanti, Ebenezer Padi Narh revealed the power has been restored to the treatment plants following a meeting with the Electricity Company.

“To prevent our machines from damaging, we had to shut down operations. ECG has restored power to all treatment plants. Should we continue to have constant supply, we will also do our part. Customers will have water if there is constant power supply,” he said.

Many households in the area have in the last few weeks experienced water shortfalls which they lament affects their businesses and daily chores.

“We have to store water everyday just to avoid purchasing those distributed privately. The washroom is even worse. With little water available, one can’t decide whenever to flush after using the toilets,” a resident at Atonsu said.

The situation is not only impacting households, but businesses.

Water is essential for the production of palm oil, especially for the local variant known as Zomi. 

Ophelia operates a palm oil processing hub at Anloga-Sobolo. She laments the few barrels of water available aren’t enough for her palm oil processing hub.

“We need at least 10 barrels of water to produce oil. We only got a few buckets today from a well. It’s a lot tedious to access water,” she said.

The water shortfall is biting hard on her production as she is unable to produce large quantities of the palm oil. 

“We can produce 20 barrels of oil if there’s at least 10 barrels of water. But now we have to leave the palm extracts overnight and it can get spoiled. It becomes bland when left overnight,” she said.

Sarah, a hairdresser, shares similar sentiments. 

“I am unable to make enough profits these days because of the water situation,” she said.

Residents continue to prevail on the water company to resolve the perennial water shortages.

During a parliamentary session, Member of Parliament for Tamale South and former Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, delivered an urgent statement highlighting the gravity of the water crisis.

He said many residents have endured months and, in some cases, years without access to pipe borne water.

Instead, Mr. Iddrisu claimed residents are forced to rely on makeshift containers, often referred to as “Kuffour gallons,” to fetch water from distant sources.

The dire circumstances have disproportionately affected women in the region, according to Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini, the Member of Parliament for Tamale North.

Mr. Suhuyini highlighted the additional hardships faced by female residents and emphasized the urgent need for government intervention to alleviate their suffering.

The lack of access to clean water has not only posed significant health risks but has also disrupted daily life for residents, who must travel long distances in search of water.

As a result, the water scarcity issue has become a matter of urgent concern for policymakers and affected communities alike.

In response to the crisis, Tamale MPs have called on the government and Ghana Water Company to address the root causes of the problem to prevent a recur.

The video shows the woman going down the well without a rope or harness to access water.

People in Ghusiya village have been forced to take such extreme measures after wells and ponds have dried.

Several other areas across India are facing similar water crisis.

Videos showing Indians risking their lives to get water frequently go viral. In April, a similar video showed a woman going down a well in Maharashtra state to get water.

A 2019 global report had named India among 17 countries where “water stress” was “extremely high”.

The report said the states of Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Haryana were among those worst hit by the crisis.

In Madhya Pradesh, water shortage is a recurring issue every summer. The state government has promised tap water supply to every village by 2024. But drinking water is still inaccessible to millions.

In Ghusiya, angry villagers have said they will boycott local elections this year to protest against the government.

“We have to go down the well to collect water. There are three wells [here], all have almost dried. No hand pumps have water,” one woman told the news agency ANI.

“Government employees and political leaders only come [here] during elections. This time we have decided to not give votes until we have proper water supply,” she said.

#WATCH | Madhya Pradesh: People in Dindori’s Ghusiya village risk their lives to fetch water from an almost dry well pic.twitter.com/jcuyLmE5xL

— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) June 2, 2022

Many Indians on social media reacted to what they called a “heart-breaking” video and urged officials to urgently help the village.

India is the largest extractor of groundwater in the world – many still rely on it for their daily water supply.

But almost two-thirds of the country’s districts are threatened by falling groundwater levels, the World Bank says.

India is projected to face severe water stress by 2050, with 30 cities said to fall in high-risk regions.

According to the unit committee chairman, Atta Kwadwo, the water was disconnected due to an amount the community owes Volta River Authority (VRA).

“The community leaders went for a loan to repair the community pipe which served the community with water for a while until it was disconnected by VRA with the reason that the community is owing. Since then we have no option but to share the same water with animals”.

Speaking on Adom News, the assembly member for the community, Sefa Cokpul, lamented that the situation has since been entrusted in their care to manage what they have without support from the government.

“It is true, we are suffering from water shortages because the government hasn’t come to our aid but rather, we have been entrusted to manage what we have,” he said.

“What we have is what we’ve been using since but it got to a point, the water dried up so we don’t get water to drink. We have followed up for a very long time and whenever we ask, they tell us there’s no money,” he added.

Some women revealed to Adom News’ correspondent, Obrempongba K Owusu that, the looking greenish and unhygienic water source leaves residents vulnerable to water-related diseases.

“Due to typhoid, we don’t even get money to buy water. When you go to the clinic, there are a lot of bills we need to settle. Because of this water, when we go to the clinic, typhoid is what we are diagnosed with.

“We are appealing to the government to come to our aid because there’s no money to access healthcare,” they added.

The findings also revealed that the world’s drinking water supplies have fallen by almost two thirds since 1950 while desertification is threatening the livelihoods of one billion people out of which 135 million people have already been rendered homeless.

Land is becoming a scarce resource since one quarter of the earth’s surface (an area of over 3.6 billion hectares) is threatened by desertification.

Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, said this in a speech read on his behalf during the World Day to Combat Drought and Desertification at Siiru in the Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region.

He said this is a concern as the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation revealed that some 83 per cent of Sub-Saharan African people depended on the land for their livelihood.

Prof Frimpong Boateng said currently 40 per cent of soils in Africa were degraded and in turn contributed to desertification.

He said it was worth noting that Ghana’s natural resources are been depleted at an alarming rate, adding that more than 50 per cent of the original forest area has been converted to agricultural land.

Stocks of timber and non-timber forest products were decreasing rapidly while wildlife populations and biodiversity are in serious decline, he said.

“Recent estimates of the cost of environmental degradation suggests that the equivalent of 10 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is lost annually through unsustainable management of the country’s forests, land resources, wildlife, and fisheries and through health costs related to water supply and sanitation, and indoor and outdoor air pollution”, he said.

Prof Frimpong Boateng said deforestation, unsustainable farming practices, overgrazing, urbanization, population growth, climate change and stripping the land of resources like natural gas, oil, or mineral mining, were some of the activities leading to desertification in the country.

He said the management of Ghana’s Natural resources and the environment had a key role to play in the nation’s socio-economic development and called on all citizens to ensure judicious use of the country’s land resources.

In 1994, the United Nation’s General Assembly declared June 17, as the “World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought” to help promote public awareness on the issue.

The International theme for the 2017 World Day to Combat Desertification is: “Our home, Our land, Our future”.