Regional News of Tuesday, 20 October 2009

Source: GNA

Water shortage hits Anyako

Anyako, (V/R), Oct. 20, GNA - Anyako in the Keta Municipal Area and surrounding communities have been experiencing an acute water shortage over the past year as a result of the collapse of the pumping machine. Residents, including those at Seva and Konu, continue to depend on impure water sources while operations of schools and health facilities suffer, raising the fears of a recurrence of cholera that hit the area last year.

The authorities alleged that the Ghana Water Company (GWC) and DANIDA had so far ignored appeals from the Keta Municipal Assembly to revive the facility.

This came to light when Mr Sylvester Tornyeava, Keta Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), visited Anyako on Tuesday as part of a familiarization tour of communities and public facilities in the area. Mr Peter Dagbi, Keta Municipal Development Planning Officer, said the Anyako Water Station, which was built in 1967 and rehabilitated in 2000 was identified alongside a few others to be very profitable and was to be kept under the management of the GWC.

He said the Anyako Community, having a hint about the profitability of the station, seized the facility in a mob action in 2003 from the GWC against the advice of DANIDA.

Mr Dagbi said the two institutions therefore refused to have anything to do with the repairs when the station broke down. Mr Tornyeava appealed to the GWC to rescind the decision, saying the entire community might not be behind the takeover and therefore all the people must not be made to suffer.

The MCE, inspecting a number of GETFUND projects at the ZION College at Anloga, decried the poor construction works on the completed 300 capacity girls' dormitory and expressed the need for the contractor to be recalled to take a second look at the job.