The Minority in Parliament is calling for reopening of the Teshie desalination treatment facility to address water shortages being experienced in the capital.
The Minority argued the uncertain times the state finds itself and the measures being applied in the fight against the Coronavirus makes it practical for potable water to be available for the citizenry.
Former Deputy Minister for Works and Housing, Sampson Ahi, who made the call, warned the water shortage could aggravate the Coronavirus outbreak if the situation is not addressed immediately.
Water shortage
Speaking in an interview in Parliament on Tuesday 17th March 2020, he noted that the precautionary measures advised by the government to fend off the Covid-19 pandemic require the use of more water for handwashing.
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“Meanwhile we are struggling to even get water for domestic use. The government, as a matter of urgency, should reopen the desalination plant to augment the volume of water supply.”
“The government should find resources to ensure the facility is operating to add more water to the current supply,” he stated.
Mr. Sampson Ahi expressed misgivings about reasons for the shutdown of the plant and argued the cost element introduced by the government is not tenable.
According to him, it would be an unforgivable crime to risk even a single person dying from the Coronavirus due to a lack of potable water when the desalination facility is lying idle.
“What will be the justification for people to die because the government is unable to pay for the cost of water production leading to water shortages hence people are unable to get enough potable water to observe the strict hygiene being advised?”
“In the light of the Coronavirus infection government has no other justification but to engage the company that constructed the plant to start operating for the people of Nungua, Teshie, Tema and Spintex to have access to water.”
Government failure
Sampson Ahi lamented that the government has failed to increase the total urban water coverage of 78% the NDC government left behind because there has not been any significant investment in the sector.
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He noted that the government has started a couple of projects but these have not been completed to add to the current water supply.
He appealed to the government to expand existing facilities and reopen those that have been shut down to ensure an adequate supply of water to Ghanaians.
The government, he said, must use innovative means to supply water to various institutions and areas that required them urgently as was done under the previous administration.
The NDC government, he said, contracted military and other security agencies and the Ghana Water Company in the past to provide tanker services to various institutions including clinics, hospitals, prisons, and schools.
He urged the government to do the same.
By Osumanu Al-HassanlFrongpageghana.comlGhana
