Ho Central MP commissions two mechanized boreholes to ease water crisis

The Member of Parliament for Ho Central Constituency, Hon. Edem Richmond Kofi Anane Kpotosu, has commissioned two separate mechanized boreholes for his constituency at Nkuabia-Korfe, a suburb of Sokode Bagble, and at New Housing MA Basic School in Ho.

The projects are aimed at alleviating the acute water crisis facing the communities and the school, serving over 100 households in Nkuabia-Korfe, Dokpo-Korfe and Amuzu-Korfe, a suburb of Akrofu.

The Assembly Member for the area, Hon. Wilson Akorli, said the project is a timely intervention for the relief of the community, since residents previously walked about 15 kilometres to Bagble town to fetch water for domestic use, or dug holes in the ground in search of water.

The community expressed joy and thanked the MP for fulfilling his campaign promise, recalling that his wife visited the community during the campaign and assured them of support, and they pledged to take good care of the facility to attract more development from the MP.

Meanwhile, commissioning the New Housing MA Basic School project, Hon. Kpotosu said the water project is to facilitate hygiene and sanitation in the school, explaining that children play around, come into contact with germs, and need running water to wash their hands, and that the school had no such facility until now, which will help keep the hygiene status of the school very high and reduce water-related sicknesses.

He added that the facility will also help girls during their monthly cycle and boys after visiting the washroom, noting that it was provided at the request of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of the school, which approached him to support them, and that he took it as a personal task so that children can have peace, freedom and more time to study instead of trekking about 10 minutes in search of water and missing lessons.

Hon. Kpotosu disclosed that the project, funded from his share of the District Assemblies Common Fund, cost about GH¢75,000, and advised the beneficiaries to take good care of it, stressing that maintenance is key, and that the culture of saying “it is for government” must change because the facility was built with taxpayers’ money and belongs to the people.

He also requested that the school send the water to Ghana Water Company every six months for analysis and profiling of its quality to ensure the water given to children is safe, noting that groundwater can become contaminated over time.

The MP explained that he receives only five percent of the Common Fund and must therefore be strategic, since Ho Central is very big with many schools, adding that after this project, he has one water project coming up at Akoefe Gadza, then Klave and Ave, making five in total, with more to follow in the next phase, as part of efforts towards achieving SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation, including for CHPS compounds.

The Headmistress of New Housing MA JHS, Madam Justine Amedzie, said drinking water had been a major challenge for the school because of non-payment of bills, which led to disconnection by Ghana Water Company, and that the construction of the borehole has solved a lot of their problems and will create a conducive environment for academic work.

The PTA Executive Member of New Housing MA JHS, Mr. Francis Selase Alaga, said the school had struggled with water for some time, with pupils often sent out in search of water after disconnections, and that they pleaded with the MCE and the MP, who took it upon himself to assist them, assuring that they will maintain the project very well so that they will not return to him for water again but for other developmental needs.

Mr. Alaga added that the school still lacks a library and a science laboratory and hopes to convert some old classrooms into those facilities, expressing optimism that just as the water project has come, other projects will follow to make the school one of the best in the municipality.