The Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, has handed over five fully operational mechanised boreholes to some identifiable groups and institutions within her constituency to end their difficulties in accessing potable water for domestic use.

Among the groups and institutions are the Old Ashongman D/A Primary School, Yam Market, Taifa Community Clinic, Agbogba Anglican Basic School and Dome Mosque.

Sanitation in these communities is a major problem for city authorities and the situation was exacerbated by lack of water.

Residents in the Dome-Kwabenya constituency have over the years faced water shortages; the Ghana Water Company has been unable to supply sufficient quantities of water to the residents. 

Those in areas not connected to the community water system had to walk an hour's distance to the nearest neighborhood where they can get water to buy. A bucket of water in such communities sells between Gp70 and Gp80.

The situation even is worse in the dry season when a bucket of water (34 litres) is sold for GH₵1.00 - an amount that could buy them a 1,000 litres of water from the Ghana Water Company.

The lawmaker, in an interaction with journalists, said her primary motivation for sinking the mechanised boreholes for the people is to boost sanitation in the constituency, especially, in communities where water was very scarce.

“This is to ensure that my people, especially, the children are clean, they have good drinking water and are saved from this Ebola and Cholera epidemic. Children are my priority – their education, their health and their livelihood. I believe the facilities are going to help the schools and the entire community because they wouldn’t have to buy water anymore”, said a cheerful Ms. Safo.

She said five other neighbourhoods and institutions were also in the pipeline to benefit from the mechanised borehole initiative. Each of the facilities, which comes with a reservoir, the MP noted, costs GH₵25,000.00.

 

Commenting on the initiative, the Headteacher of the Old Ashongman D/A Primary School, Vinolia Bediako Madogo, said the facility had come at the right time because it would save the school from the difficulties pupils go through in search of water.

She said the school had over the years been dependent on erratic water supply from the Municipal Assembly at an average cost of GH₵40.00 per month to serve over 900 pupils. She said the gesture from the MP would help save the school some money and also improve on the sanitation situation in the area. “This is a blessing,” noted Madam Madogo.

A class four pupil of the Old Ashongman D/A Primary School, Hannah Abedu Fosu expressed her profound gratitude to Ms. Safo for her kind gesture noting “the borehole will give us potable water to drink and help protect us from getting cholera and Ebola.”

 

Headteacher of the Agbogba Anglican Basic School, Mrs. Joana Adwoa Brukum, also commenting on the initiative, praised the MP for bringing life to the school.

“Water is life and he who brings water brings life. This borehole donated to us will go a long way to relieve us of the difficulties we encounter in getting water on a daily basis. It will also improve on our sanitation issues in the school, especially, with the outbreak of cholera. We promise to take good care of the facility and use it for the purpose for which it has been given”, she noted.

Leaders of the Dome Market, Taifa Community Clinic and the Yam Market all welcomed the gesture of the MP and promised to take good care of the facilities.