The water crisis that has hit the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipality, is taking a toll on inmates of Ghana’s biggest prison facility in the area, which is home to over three thousand prisoners.
During a visit by Citi News to the prison, inmates were seen in long winding queues, holding empty gallons and buckets in search of water.
Some of the inmates told Citi News they were contradicting skin diseases as a result of the situation.
The Male Prison
In front of one of the mechanized bore holes, inmates have gathered, to draw water. But it is the survival of the fittest; those who get access to the water are the ones who are the strongest
The inmates complain that they have been infected with skin diseases as a result of the water shortage.
The male prison has five boreholes;two mechanized, three manual.
But one mechanized borehole and another one that is operated manually have broken down.
At the infirmary, the taps are not flowing and the only borehole to serve the infirmary is not functioning.
Infirmary
Following the acute water shortage, there has been an increase in the number of skin diseases.
He has been working at the Infirmary for the past four years treating quite a number of medical cases including skin diseases.
He told Citi FM’s Pearl Akanya Ofori on Friday that, on Monday three people reported to the facility with chicken pox and other skin diseases warning that the number would increase due to the acute water shortage that has hit the facility.
‘The inmates don’t have enough water to bath, so the number will definitely go up”
In order to mitigate the impact of the water shortage on the inmates at the Male prison, authorities at the male prison have to spend not less than 750 Ghana cedis a day on water tanker services and that is not enough to serve the inmates.
Female prison
At the female prison, the taps are also not flowing.
Unlike the male prison, the females don’t have a borehole within their yard which means they have to go outside the yard to draw water from a borehole.
This is a source of worry to the officer in charge at this facility, DDP Charity Araba Magnusen.
While seated in her office, DDP Charity Araba Magnusen told Citi FM, the situation had put an extra burden on her officers because they had to work overtime to provide security for inmates who were not permitted to go outside the premises to draw water.
‘’ Some of the inmates are not allowed to go out because of the offence they have committed but we have no choice than to let them go out to fetch water
Pressure on few boreholes at the officers barracks
Back at the quarters, officers at the barracks are also feeling the pinch of the water shortage.
In front of their blocks, their wives have gathered in front of a borehole to draw water
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By: Pearl Akanya Ofori /Citifmonline .com/Ghana
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