President John Dramani Mahama in his State of the Nation Address last Thursday, posited that in the water sector, the total water production and distribution system available in all the 52 years of the nation’s history prior to 2009, was only adequate to meet the needs of approximately 52% of the population, which meant 14 million out of the current population of about 27 million.
His analysis meant that a staggering 13 million lacked access to drinking water.
According to President Mahama, in the remotest parts of the country, citizens had to risk drinking water that likely carried water-borne diseases, and that some of the water sources were shared with their cattle and other livestock.
“This situation had far reaching ramifications for the general health and well-being of a large section of our people,” the President said.
The President said out of the 10 million or so Ghanaians who were deprived of clean water, four million of them living in hundreds of communities across the country, currently have access to safe drinking water, due to his administration’s unprecedented record in the water sector.
Unfortunately, few hours after the State of the Nation Address, Citi News’ visit to some peri-urban communities in the Tamale Metropolitan area under the Tamale South constituency, uncovered that residents of Wamali, Pagazaa, Nantong Zuo, Chanzeni among others lack access to clean drinking water.
They are still sharing with their livestock contaminated water from the only surviving dam at Nanton Zuo.
Water bodies particularly dams in the aforementioned communities, have dried up except that of the Nantong Zuo which might not last for the next two weeks.
The affected residents told Citi News they have been grappling with the situation for two months and are unsure when their plight be alleviated.
A youth leader in Nantong Zuo, Mohammed Abdul Karim, said the water crisis had adversely affected their socio-economic activities in the area.
He said school children were compelled to abandon the classroom or always report to school late because of the water crisis.
ROADS
Apart from the 147 kilometer Fufulso-Sawla road which was inaugurated in 2015, President Mahama mentioned the Busunu-Daboya road, Daboya-Mankarigu, Tamale-Salaga-Makango, Chereponi-Yendi, Yendi-Tamale, and the Tamale-Kumbungu stretch as some of the roads under construction.
But the rehabilitation of the Yendi-Tamale road has stalled because the contractor after excavating some portions of the road, has abandoned the project.
The longest stretch is from Jimli to Kpachaa, and residents on that stretch are suffering from dust while motorists are finding it uncomfortable to use the road.
Health
Phase II of the Tamale Teaching Hospital upgrading and expansion project is in progress. The project was re-awarded to Vamed Netherlands bv in October 2015, and it is expected to be completed in July 2018.
The Project Site Manager, Arend Smid, told Citi News that the project comprised a new 800-bed capacity ward, mortuary, polyclinic, operating theatre, emergency and trauma centre, eye clinic and sewerage treatment plant.
This is the real state of the Salaga District hospital.
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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/Citifmonline.com/Ghana