Accra, Feb. 16, GNA - The Government of Japan on Tuesday signed a gr= ant contract of 90,931 dollars (approximately GH¢130,031) with the Lawra District Assembly for the construction of 15 boreholes for 15 communities= in the Upper West Region.

The grant would cover the cost of all stages of the boreholes, including water level tests, drilling, water quality tests and the installation of hand pumps for each of the 15 boreholes. Among the communities selected for the project are Vapuo, Guo, Tampie= , Kokoligu, Berwon, Tuopare Tansie and Dazuuri Piisiamb whose people curren= tly rely on unsafe sources of water like streams, wells and reservoirs for th= eir daily needs. The Japanese Ambassador, Mr Keiichi Katakami, signed for his governm= ent while Mr Samson Abu, District Chief Executive, signed for the District. Mr Katakami said access to water was the most fundamental component of human development, without which any community or group could not progres= s, thus Japan's commitment to ensuring the availability of clean water in th= e developing world. He said the grant fell under the Japanese Grants Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Project and that over 6,000 people in the Lawra=

District as well as thousands more in surrounding communities would have access to safe, clean, potable water. Mr Katakami expressed the hope that when the project was completed, more people in the District would live safer, healthier and more producti= ve lives devoid of the long search for water that took a significant amount of time in the lives of women and children every day.

"There will be fewer incidents of the waterborne diseases that kill hundreds of thousands of people in Africa every year and the women and children would be able to spend their time in income generating activitie= s and education." Mr Abu said he was happy that the project that dated back in 2005 wa= s finally seeing the light of day, adding that the grant would be "diligent= ly utilized in accordance with the agreement for the purpose for which it ha= s been given". He also gave the assurance that adequate arrangements would be made to continue with the projects at the cost of the Assembly in the event that there were dry holes during the drilling which would require more funding= to drill extra boreholes.