By Evans Worlanyo Ameamu
Songbe (VR) Feb 18, GNA – Some hard-to-reach communities in the Keta Municipality of the Volta region has called on the government to provide them with access to potable drinking water to safeguard their health and improve economic activities.
The communities, which include Songbe, Mamime, Hagodzi, and surrounding areas are struggling to survive on stagnant water from bushes, which poses serious health risks.
Mr Israel Mensah, the Assembly Member of the area, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said that the lack of access to clean drinking water was a major challenge facing these communities whose current water sources were not only unreliable but also contaminated, making it difficult for residents to access safe drinking water.
“The Keta Municipal Assembly some time ago acknowledged the need for improved water services in the area. The assembly’s development plan highlights the importance of providing access to safe drinking water for all communities in the municipality, but we are still left out in the plans,” he stated.
H said that the lack of access to clean drinking water was not only a narrowed to health issue alone but also affected the overall well-being of the communities, especially women and children, who spend hours each day collecting water from distant sources, which could be better spent on education, economic activities, and other productive pursuits.
Mr Mensah said that the government must intervene in the critical situation in addressing by constructing a mechanised water system, which would provide a reliable source of clean drinking water for the communities to improve their health, productivity, and overall quality of life.
“In addition to the health benefits, access to clean drinking water would also boost economic activities in my area, with a reliable source of water, farmers could irrigate their crops, and businesses could operate more efficiently, creating jobs and stimulating local economic growth.”
He said the only pipe-water in some of the areas, which sometime could not flow was insufficient for the larger number of residents and urgent attention was needed to address the challenges.
Mr Mensah said that other pressing challenges the communities faced were the lack of good roads, modern classroom blocks, health centres, as well as electricity, among others.
He appealed to the government, individuals, philanthropists, cooperate organisations and others to prioritise their challenges to alleviate the plight of the communities to improve better living conditions.
Some residents GNA engaged expressed worry about the inadequate social amenities enjoyed and appealed to the government to intervene to save lives.
They said, “The situation is dire, and every day without access to safe drinking water puts the health and well-being of the communities at risk, the little we have in the stream has dried up, we need immediate help.”
GNA