“Let me pay glowing tribute to the Member of Parliament then, the late Kofi Adda for the role he played in ensuring the success of the project,” Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister said at the commissioning of the water infrastructure last Friday (5 August).
Adda was a Member of Parliament and Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources when the project began in 2018.
Although the late statesman was later moved to the aviation ministry, he still committed himself and worked with the government to ensure the implementation of the project to address the acute water challenge in major towns of the region until his demise.
Yakubu in his speech noted that the completion of the project would eliminate the challenges associated with access to clean, safe, and potable drinking water in the region, adding that the late Adda played a crucial role in its success.
End to water rationing and shortages
The Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited, Dr. Clifford Abdallah Braimah said the project was an entirely new second raw water source for the region aside from the Gowrie water supply system, with a capacity of 4.5 million gallons of water per day.
He noted that its completion marked an end to water rationing and shortages in major towns of the region such as Navrongo, Bolgatanga, and Paga among others
“Today’s inauguration marks the development of an entirely new second raw water source, that is an intake from the Tono reservoir. With the completion of this project, the situation of the water rationing and shortages in the Bolgatanga municipality, Navrongo, Zuarungu, Bongo, Paga, and surrounding communities would be a thing of the past.”
The managing director said the Ghana Water Company would work diligently to maintain, sustain and put to efficient use the water infrastructure to ensure the continuous supply of water to consumers.
He, therefore, urged consumers to help the company to execute its mandate of supplying clean, safe drinking water by reporting faults in the water supply network.
Stronger ties
The Netherlands ambassador to Ghana, Jeroen Verheul, in a short speech, urged stronger ties between Ghana and the Netherlands so as to champion development.
He said if more development projects were to come to Ghana from the Netherlands government, it would depend largely on the close collaboration between the two countries.
The ambassador added to the calls for the proper maintenance of the facility.
He said, “huge investment has been made to make this water supply possible. And I want to second the plea that the managing director of Ghana Water Company made for people to be watchful of this investment, to report technical problems, and also to pay their water bills on time because only if you pay your bills on time that Ghana Water Company will be able to maintain the project.”
Government’s determination
On her part, Cecilia Dapaah, the Minister for sanitation and water Resources, said the government’s determination to improve access to potable drinking water in all corners of the country resulted in the construction of the water supply facility.
She said the project carried out extensive network connections, replacement of old pipes, and provision of additional storage reservoirs to ensure the smooth supply of water to consumers.
The minister was hopeful the availability of clean, safe, and potable drinking water would help reduce the incidence of diseases in the region.
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Joseph Kofi Adda, former MP for Navrongo Central