Presiding Member of the Sagnarigu District Assembly in the Northern Region, Alhaji Mohammed Awal has renewed calls for the assembly to be upgraded to a municipality.
The assembly which was carved out of the Tamale Metropolitan Area accommodates the Tamale Airport, the Tamale Sports Stadium, Kamina and Bawah Barracks, Tamale City campus of the University for Development Studies (UDS) and some giant hotels including Modern City, Gariba Lodge and Mariam Hotel.
Alhaji Mohammed Awal at a forum on the state of fire hydrants in the Tamale and Sagnarigu districts organised by the League of Youth Association, a Tamale based civil society organization reiterated the need for the assembly to be elevated to a Municipal status.
Participants at the forum interacted with personnel of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and the Volta River Authority (VRA).
The Presiding Member maintained that the assembly had met all requirements expected of a Municipality.
According to him, the 2010 population and housing census pegged residents of the area at 140,000 twice the required figure for a municipality.
He said the district could not benefit from the Department of Urban Roads projects because of its current status.
Public Relations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), ADO I Nicholas Pokoo Aikins revealed that the Tamale Metropolitan area could boast of only 27 hydrants located outside the Business Capital City.
He said 11 out of the 27 remained unserviceable, eight with low pressure whereas two have good pressure.
Nicholas Aikins called for enough fire hydrants across the region to augment the GNFS operations.
He also advised institutions to construct water reservoirs within their premises.
Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Nicholas Nii-Abbey urged residents to conserve water.
He condemned the activities of sand winners along the Nawuni River which serves as the main source of water supply to the Tamale Metropolitan Area.
Nii-Abbey appealed to all stakeholders in the water sector to support the GWCL’s campaign against sand winning activities along the Nawuni River.
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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana