ASSEMBLY, OPINION LEADERS DISCUSS KWABENG WATER PROBLEM (PAGE 22)

Story: A. Kofoya-Tetteh, Kwabeng

THE chiefs and people of Kwabeng, capital of the Atiwa District in the Eastern Region, as well as the assembly, have met to discuss the factors militating against the delay in the provision of good drinking water for the town and its surrounding villages.
The meeting became imperative because X-tra Gold, a gold mining company in the area, whose operations were said to have polluted the river that is the only source of drinking water for the people, which had agreed to assist in the drilling of a mechanised borehole, seems not to have done anything about the project, ever since the company gave that assurance about three months ago.
At the meeting, which was attended by the Chief of Kwabeng, Osabarima Dakwa Woe, an opinion leader of the town, Alhaji Mustapha Boateng, other elders of the town and officials of the Atiwa District Assembly, the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Kwasi Osei Agyepong, said the assembly was concerned about the issue.
He said it was, therefore, doing its best to ensure that at least a mechanised borehole was provided for the people at the shortest possible time.
According to Mr Agyepong, that could not, however, be accomplished due to the technicalities involved.
He, therefore, appealed to the people to be patient to enable him to personally tackle the issue with the Ghana Water and Sanitation Agency (GWSA), which was also working tirelessly on the issue.
“Water from the river is not the best, but there are a lot of technicalities involved that will take some time so I have to personally contact the GWSC as soon as possible to speed up the process and I hope good-drinking water will soon be available for the people,” Mr Agyepong stated.
Alhaji Mustapha Boateng, for his part, wondered why X’tra Gold could not provide the borehole as agreed upon about three months ago.
He called on the assembly to ensure that the company had honoured its own commitment.
With regard to the town’s street lights, Alhaji Mustapha, who donated some of the bulbs for the project, appealed to the assembly to see to the proper functioning of the system.
Osabarima Darkwa Woe said as the chief of the town, he would not sit aloof for his people to depend on contaminated water.
He, therefore, implored the DCE to do everything within his means to address the problem without delay.