MDCEs Urged to Sensitise Communities Against Swimming in Water Bodies

By Samuel Akapule

Bolgatanga — The Upper East Regional Minister, Ms Paulina Patience Abayage, has directed all the 15 municipal and district chief executives (MDCEs) in the region to sensitise the people on the dangers of children swimming in water bodies, such as dams being provided under the One Village, One Dam.

The Regional Minister issued the directive when the District Chief Executive for Bolgatanga East, Reverend Emmanuel Abugre Abole informed her about the death of one child who died in the Goono Dam on Tuesday when he had gone there to swim with the friend and got drowned.

The child (name withheld) was rescued and rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival. Another 21-year-old boy also died on the same day in the One Village One dam at Ayupia in the Bongo District.

Whilst tasking the MDCEs, the Regional Minister equally called on parents to caution and monitor to ensure that their children were not exposed to the water bodies.

The DCE for the Bolgatanga East who sympathised with the parents of the deceased, called on people particularly the opposition parties to desist from playing politics with the dams.

Rev Emmanuel Abole stated that notwithstanding some challenges of the project, many of the dams were in good shape and were serving the communities very well.

He stated that ten communities in the district had been selected to benefit from the project and indicated that so far five communities where the dams were constructed were relying on the facilities for water for their animals, farming and other household activities.

The DCE bemoaned the falling standards of education at the basic school level and stated that plans were far advanced by the Assembly to organise stakeholder forum to help address the problem.

Some of the participants at the forum lauded the One Village One Dam project but asked that those that were poorly executed must be redone to achieve the intended purpose of the dams.

Whilst others called on the Assembly to speed up the completion of the Zuarungu market, others also called on the Assembly to look for a bigger area to put up a standard market to serve the growing population of the district.

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