Mr Osafo-Maafo (with shovel in hand) performs the sod cutting ceremony
Potable water rationing in Sekondi-Takoradi will soon be a thing of the past following moves by government to rehabilitate and expand the existing water supply system at a cost of 70 million euros.
There are indications that water supply in Sekondi-Takoradi and its environs will increase from the current six to 22. 2 million gallons per day on the completion of the expansion works being funded from a concessionary loan between the Government of Ghana and Comnerzbank AG of Germany, with a grant element of 35 per cent.
The increased capacity will be enough to meet demand of an estimated 1.4 million population up to the year 2040.
Beneficiaries
Newly developed areas as well as several deprived communities in the oil city, including New Takoradi, Kansawrado, Effia, Tanokrom, Fijai, Anaji and Windy Ridge, will have constant water flow on completion of the project.
According to officials from STRABAG AG, a leading Australian construction firm executing the project, it will be ready and handed over in the next 40 months.
The Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis and its surrounding communities are supplied water from Ghana Water Company Limited’s two headworks at Daboase and Inchaban which were built over a decade ago.
With time, total production level of the two plants has drastically reduced from 10 to 6 million gallons per day, making it woefully inadequate, compared with current demand of 12 million gallons per day.
Some of the residents, particularly children, always have to go round with buckets on their heads drawing water from wells, streams and rivers.
The last time the two GWCL plants saw any major rehabilitation and expansion works was in 2003 during former President John Agyekum Kufuor’s era, with the current NPP government embarking on similar exercise.
Addressing problems
At a brief sod cutting ceremony last Friday, performed on behalf of President Akufo-Addo, Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo assured Sekondi-Takoradi residents that the ordeal of searching for water outside their homes and vicinities would soon be over.
He said Western Region is very dear to the heart of President Akufo-Addo and that government would ensure that the region gets its fair share of social amenities to make life comfortable for the residents.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said the expansion works would not only address water shortage but also attract influx of investors into Sekondi-Takoradi, especially those who are into food processing and mineral extraction which demand a lot of water.
The Senior Minister reminded residents of Sekondi-Takoradi and Ghanaians of NPP’s commitment to its social responsibility towards them in the last three years and ten months through provision of several amenities. He urged them to reciprocate this gesture by voting for President Akufo-Addo and the party’s parliamentary candidates on December 7.
He also urged them to continue adhering to the Covid-19 safety protocols since the pandemic is not yet over.
Manifesto promise
Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, said the rehabilitation and expansion works are in fulfilment of NPP’s 2016 manifesto to provide good drinking water for all Ghanaians, in line with United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
She stressed that although only 14 out of Ghana’s 53 per cent water surface is currently being harnessed, the government will ensure that no region or community is left behind in the provision of potable water supply.
It is as a result of this that she called for proper maintenance of all supply systems to prolong their lifespans for the benefit of the people.
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