Some residents of the Tolon District in the Northern Region have complained of lack of access to potable water in the area saying it is affecting their lives.

They said the situation was worse during the dry season as there were few boreholes, wells and dams in the area.

This was the major concern raised at a town hall meeting at Nyankpala organised by the Justice and Peace Commission of the St Monica's Parish in collaboration with Catholic Archdiocese of Tamale and the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference with support from Conrad Adenauer Stiftung.

The meeting brought together residents and officials of the Tolon District Assembly to interact and share development issues affecting them and how they could be addressed.

It was held under the theme: "Community Participation in Local Governance for Rapid and Sustainable Development".

The residents appealed to the Assembly to help provide sources of water in the area to ensure their access to potable water.

Other residents also spoke about lack of furniture at most schools in the area, lack of toilet facilities and poor drainage systems and called on the Assembly to help address them.

Mr Abdallah Yussif, Tolon District Assembly Planning Officer, who spoke on behalf of the District Chief Executive during the meeting, said the Assembly was doing its best to address some of the issues raised.

Mr Yussif said as part of the 2019 Annual Action Plan, the Assembly was undertaking development projects to improve on agriculture, education, health, water and sanitation in the area.

He mentioned the establishment of a District Center for Agriculture, Commerce and Technology, the procurement and distribution of 4,000 dual desks to schools, the rehabilitation and construction of some CHPS compounds as some of the projects undertaken to improve the situation.

Mr Yussif appealed to development partners and donor agencies to support the Assembly to help realize its development plan because it could not generate enough revenue to address its needs.

Mr John Baptist Kambe, President of Justice and Peace Commission, St Monica's Parish, urged the public to actively engage in the decentralisation process to promote good governance.