Wa, March 26, GNA - The Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Project (SRWSP) is to provide 55 boreholes for communities without potable water in the Wa East District of the Upper West Region by the end of 2011. The 75 million dollar project is being sponsored by the World Bank with the Government of Ghana (GoG) contributing five million dollars towards the implementation of the project in six regions including the Upper West, Upper East, Northern, Brong-Ahafo, Western and the Central Regions.

Six districts comprising; Nadowli, Wa Municipal, Wa West, Wa East, Sissala West and Lambussie-Karni Districts would be benefiting from the SRWSP in the Upper West Region. Mr. Ameen Salifu, Wa East District Chief Executive (DCE) disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency after the launch of the project in Wa. He expressed gratitude to the World Bank for making available funds to support government to improve on rural communities' access to potable water.

The DCE said the allocation of the 55 boreholes to the district would go a long way to improve access to potable water in the district. Mr Salifu mentioned communities in the district that would be captured by the project to include, Kulun, Chawuli, Halenboi, Talawona which had no access to potable water. He said currently the district had about 50 percent water coverage and expressed the hope that the 55 new boreholes to be provided would push potable water coverage in the district to about 70 to 80 percent.

The DCE suggested to donor communities to endeavour to make available a small percentage of funds meant for such projects for the rehabilitation of nonfunctional facilities. He said the norm of always providing new facilities without rehabilitating the broken down facilities would be a waste of resources. He advised beneficiary communities to take proper care of such facilities to prevent their frequent break downs. 26 March 11