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Atsieve Residents Drink Muddy Water with Animals, Shit Openly for Over 50years

... Cries for Support
By Evans Aziamor-Mensah
Headlines Residents drink from this muddy water with animals
DEC 31, 2018 LISTEN
Residents drink from this muddy water with animals

Muddy water, with a major part filled with pond scum and brownish in color is the dreary of a water body which serves about 1,200 residents of Atsieve,a predominantly farming community about 6 km from Sogakope, the District capital of the South Tongue District of the Volta region.

The pond which was dug out in response to an ever-increasing demand for water for use by residents over 5 decades ago, is shared by both humans and animals, particularly cows, goats and sheep belonging to residents of the community.

The setting sun which painted the sky with red and orange hues and a hazy weather owing to the harmattan.

The bushy road leading to the water body and the footprints of cows which left the river bank not long after our arrival tells of the woes of users of this water. Residents of the town say this has been their only source of water for decades now and appeals upon appeals to the District Assembly and the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area have yielded no results.

“We have written letters, organize community durbars, petitioned the duty bearers, and every electoral cycle comes with a renewed promised by the MP, Hon. Kobla Mensah Woyome," the Assembly Member of the Atsieve/ Yorkutsikpo lamented.

Just like a community living near the Akosombo Dam which provides electricity to a greater number of people in Ghana but has no light, so is the predicament of the people of Atsieve who lives about 5.6 km from the Volta River which provides water for domestic and industrial purposes for other communities of the South Tongue, Central Tongu, North Tongu and other nearby districts in the Volta region and beyond.

The Assembly Member for the area, William Amedzo retorted that he has also written to several NGOs in Water and also the District assembly but as it's been the case, they always give him a the politician's response to their problems, "It is in the pipeline."

He said the latest is the Sogakope-Lome water project which has stalled due to financial constraints according to the assembly.

About three boreholes have been put up in the community but all have become white elephants except 1 which has been constructed by the District Assembly and is yet to be connected.

"After January, the water dries up leaving us with no option than to go to Sogakope to buy water or water from tricycles from Sogakope which are brought here for sale" an elderly woman said.

Speaking to a resident who also doubles as an opinion leader in the community, he said this has been an age-old challenge and appeal after the other fell on deaf ears.

"After January some few years ago, I did not have money to buy water from Sogakope so it became difficult for my household and me to use water for anything including cooking. As an elderly person, I cried in the night while pondering over the situation," the teary duct was hapless for the old man who corroborated the Assembly member's story.

The demeanor of the residents who accompanied me to the breathless and stenchfull Atsieve pond makes one understand what it takes to have a dirty-muddy -cow faecal matter and pond moss -filled water for use.

Aside the issue of lack of good water for domestic use is the problem of the lack of toilet for the about 1200 population of the Atsieve Community. Residents are then left with no option than to resort to free range as a place of convenience.

Sustainable Development Goal six of the United Nations expect member nations to ensure access to water and sanitation for all by 2030.

The twin situation at Atsieve and some other communities not mentioned here could be a testament that Ghana is far from achieving this goal.

Stagnated growth, stomach cramping, death and other reproductive problems such as infertility resulting from drinking polluted water for a long period of time are the major worry of the residents of this community.

The District Chief Executive Officer of the Assembly, Agama Emmanuel Lois was unavailable for comments during my visit. Calls were placed to him to ask about steps being taken to solve the situation.

Unlike those on the Libyan dessert, there is a way out of this situation for the people of Atsieve.

The Community is however not resting on its ores as a durbar has been put in place to solicit for funds among members during this Yuletide to purchase pipes to help connect the community to a central water pump at the Central Tongu District.

Speaking on behalf of the Atsieve Community, the Assembly Member, William appealed to individuals, NGOs and the District Assembly to support the community to purchase pipes to connect water from Yorkutsikpo, a town which is about 6.5 km from Atsieve to give people a descent life with access to clean water.

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