?Tamale Residents Demand Water From GWC

By Yakubu Abdul-Majeed

Tamale — Hundreds of people in the Tamale metropolis on Tuesday morning besieged the premises of the Northern Regional office of Ghana Water Company (GWC) to demand why water is not flowing into their homes.

According to the protesters, the company had not supplied them with water for the past four months.

Some of the protesters told the Ghanaian Times that they have not had water since the beginning of this year.

"We have not had a drop of water from the pipes of GWC since January, and no explanation from the company," they complained

They said the acute water shortage was bringing hardship on them as some children were not attending classes because they spend several hours looking for water on a daily basis.

Alhassan Sayibu, resident of Tamale, told the Ghanaian Times that, his children have not been to school since schools reopened three weeks ago as a result of the water crisis, and said his household sometimes depend on tricycle operators.

Another resident, Mr Salifu Fuseini, cited an instance when there was nearly exchange of blows in Kalaraga, a sub of Tamale, when a water tanker brought water to serve a large number of people who were desperately looking for water.

He predicted the outbreaks of waterborne diseases should GWC fail to supply water to households, since some residents were competing with animal for water in dams and streams.

The protesters appealed to the government to ensure that the GWC resumed supply of water to the people.

The workers of the GWC were not available for their response at the time of the demonstration, however, a reliable source at the company blamed the situation on the frequent power outages in the metropolis.

Meanwhile, Northern Regional Minister, Mr Salifu Saeed, has pleaded with residents to exercise restrain as the company had assured efforts were being made to resolve the water crisis.

Speaking to the Ghanaian Times, he said: "My outfit is working with the GWC to find solution to the water crisis as soon as possible."

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