Chiefs and people of communities in the Amanase, Kwabenya and Nyanyaano in the Eastern, Greater Accra and Central regions respectively have commended Kosmos Energy, Ghana, an oil and gas company for extension of its social investments to their communities.

The beneficiary communities caught the attention of the company following their numerous cries for potable water.

Chief Nyanano, Dr. Nana Obeng Wiabo V said, water one of their scarce resources for several decades and that Kosmos Energy’s choice for the project was timely and important to the people.

He said members from his communities had to buy water at exorbitant prices from vendors or harvest rain water during the raining season.

He said it was therefore gratifying to note that an oil and gas company, Kosmos Energy went beyond its upstream operation to embark on the project.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony, Commercial Director Kosmos Energy Ghana, Philip Liverpool said the provision of the facility was in line with the company’s policy of promoting development at the grassroots.

It is also to support the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water in country.

He said Kosmos working with its social investment partners have extended its footprint to 31-sites across the country providing potable water to more than 450,000 people this year alone.

“We are expecting that by the end of 2017, our sites will go up from 31 to 98 across the country and expected to provide potable water to 1.2 million people,” Mr. Liverpool said.

He said from the records only 61 percent of the people in sub-Saharan Africa have access to improved water supply sources and that more than 40 per cent of all people globally who lack access to drinking water live in sub-Saharan Africa.

“Back in 2012, Kosmos Energy began providing water to selected coastal communities in the Western Region. Today, Kosmos is happy to have partnered with Water Health to extend this water project to communities in Amanase in the Eastern Region and Kwabenya in the Greater Accra Region and Nyanano in the Central Region.

This new water plant he said has an installed capacity of 2,700 litres of water per hour and could serve the majority of people and what was needed was to extend the supply to other smaller communities for use by the people. 

The plant he said had a hybrid system, capable of straining out harmful pathogens and unwanted salts making the water pure and healthy for drinking and also for other household needs.

The move by Kosmos was to complement the efforts that had already been made by government and other agencies by way of providing water to the local communities and we are grateful for the collaboration and support from the Traditional Authorities, Community Water and Sanitation Agency, the District Assemblies and the communities.

He urged the beneficiaries of the facilities to patronize the water and take good care of it to ensure that it becomes a profitable venture for the community.

“Kosmos Energy will continue to look for other equally impactful avenues, in which it can partner with other entities to accelerate the government’s efforts in achieving their Sustainable Development Goals.”

The country manager of WaterHealth, Mr. Parshant Gajanan Kulkarni, took the people through the new technology and the six purification stages.