Acute water shortage has hit seven communities in the Tolon District of the Northern Region. The seven communities since the beginning of the dry season has been battling with water crisis after their dugouts dried up.
The communities include; Kpana, Gawagu, Kpalisogu, Tingoli, Daasuyili, Waribogu Kukuo and Waribogu Dingoni all in the Tolon constituency. Even though the communities have public stand pipes, the taps only open during rainy season.
Community members say they suspect someone at the Ghana Water Company is up to something and deliberately denying them of the essential commodity.
What baffles the communities members is the continued monthly bills from Ghana water company which amounts to thousands of Ghana Cedis despite the pipes being locked up for months.’’ We complained to the DCE for Tolon about it and he called the water people; that day before we got to our communities the water was flowing that is why we are suspecting some mischief and we cannot longer tolerate such behaviors from public servants, a community member lamented’’.
Women in the communities told Zaa News they traveled several miles in search of water and it is affecting their children’s education and economic activities.
The women said their children always have problems with teachers in the area because they go to school at 9 and sometimes 10 am due to lack of water.
According to them, they are now competing with animals in the few dugouts in their communities. A member of Water and Sanitation Committee in Kpana expressed her disappointment about the manner in which they are being treated and appealed to stakeholders in water and sanitation to come to their aid.
Teachers in the communities who corroborated with the community members say the situation is frustrating and affecting teaching and learning in the area. Pupils at Kpana Presby primary school sleep in class immediately after arriving in school. The Head teacher, Abdulai Wahab said pupils sleep as soon as they arrive in school because they are tired.
Frustrated Head teacher said stakeholders in water sector must step in northern region because is affecting the children education.
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