Techiman, Sept 21, GNA - Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, the Minister of Works and Housing, has said the government has embarked on a programme to provide about 100,000 affordable houses throughout the country within six months for workers.

This is to enable workers to own the houses before they go on retirement.

Speaking to journalists at the end of three-day tour of some parts of the Brong Ahafo Region, Mr Owusu-Agyeman said the programme had already taken off in Kumasi, Tema and Tamale. He said the government had invested in making good drinking water accessible to all to reduce the incidence of waterborne diseases and appealed to beneficiary communities to pay their commitment fees promptly.

"As at now water is accessible to only 50 percent of most communities." Mr Owusu-Agyeman said under the ministry's accessible good Water delivery programme, the government would spend about 250 million dollars on each of the 10 regions.

He said the Kwanyako Water Project in the Central Region and Kpong Two that would link the Volta River to Weija Dam to boost Water supplies in Greater Accra were on-going projects.

The Ashanti Water Pilot Project had been designed, the contract for the Sunyani project would soon be signed, while that of Tamale had already been signed.

Mr Owusu-Agyeman and his entourage also visited the re- activated Tomato Cannery factory and were briefed by Mr Anthony Ernest Owusu, the General Manager, on operations of the factory. He expressed appreciation for work at the factory and Mr Owusu explained that management was negotiating with other business partners for the purchase of the company's products.

Mr Owusu-Agyeman inspected a 64-million cedis borehole project the Community Water and Sanitation Agency is undertaking for the people of Mframa, near Techiman under the Small Town Water Project Programme.

"The community is paying three million cedis as commitment fee for the provision of the project, which is being executed by a Chinese company", he said.