Member of Parliament for Tamale South and Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has described the acute water shortage in Tamale as a serious concern, saying many residents still lack access to safe drinking water.

Speaking on Joy FM Super Morning Show, on Wednesday, April 8, Mr Iddrisu said the situation continues to trouble local leaders.

“It’s a major, major, major headache for me and all the leadership and me from Tamale. We are sleepless because people cannot access quality drinking water,” he said.

According to him, existing infrastructure can no longer meet the needs of the growing population. “The facility, which was built in Dalong, has outgrown its population, and it needs to be fixed and fixed much more urgently,” he explained.

He said that a long-term solution is being considered through the Tamale-Damongo-Yendi water project, which is expected to receive about $300 million in support from the European Union.

However, he said the project is still under review due to financial constraints. “It’s currently receiving the attention of the Minister of Finance, subject to limitations of borrowing due to the IMF constraint. We should get it done,” he added.

In the short term, the Minister said efforts are ongoing to ease the situation, including work on dams to improve access to water in rural communities.

“You can imagine that I’m desilting three dams… even access to dam water is a challenge for many rural communities in Tamale,” he said.

"So, it is a major concern that I'm aware of, and the government will fix it," he added.