For immediate release

ON FRIDAY MAY 25.

Wednesday May 23, 2012, Odumase-Krobo: The Krobo youth group, Kloma Gbi, (Voice of the Krobo States) agitating for water supply to the three Krobo Districts has said that it would carry through its planned demonstration on Friday May 25, 2012 with or without the escort of the Police since the demonstration is intended to be peaceful.

The group’s action was prompted by the acute water shortage in the Krobo States particularly in the Manya Krobo Traditional Area which hosts two of the country’s main water treatment facilities at Kpong and Bukunor in the Lower and Upper Manya Krobo Districts respectively.

Although water has been a problem over the years in the three (3) districts, the situation worsened over the past few weeks almost forcing boarding schools to close down and hospitals to turn off patients. While students are all over town with their buckets in search of water, the hospitals in the area have had to resort to the use of sachet water to handle emergency cases including surgeries. The group said, it was surprised the Police and officials of the Lower Manya Krobo District Assembly were refusing to see the need for the protest and were determined to frustrate the youth. While the Police said there were no personnel to provide escort and would also not disclose when the personnel would be available to aid the demonstration, officials of the District Assembly insisted they would not take delivery of the petition for onward relay to the Water Resources Minister without a demonstration permit from the Police.

We deem it illogical the fact that Lower Manya Krobo District hosts the Kpong Water Treatment plants yet treated water bypasses the indigenes of the district to regularly serve others in places like Tema, Dodowa, Afienya and several parts of Accra. As if that is not enough of deprivation, water is also treated and pumped from the newly established Bukunor Water plant in the Upper Manya Krobo District to serve people in Koforidua, Tafo, Akim Oda and the mountainous areas but not the surrounding Krobo communities like Asesewa, Otrokper and Oterkpolu; not even the Bukunor community in which the treatment facility is sited is served potable water.

The Director of Communication of the group, Henking A. Adjase-Kodjo said “We are not the least deterred by these impediments; water is one of life’s essentials which, as mortals, we cannot do without; we have already set sail and will deploy all our strategies and continue to agitate until our voice is heard”. “If they won’t give us preferential treatment by virtue of us hosting the facilities, we expect that we should be treated equally as the others in the cities who are regularly served.