The unstable pipe- borne water situation in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region is receiving serious attention from the World Bank and other development partners.
The state of affairs has come about �because of the high level of fluoride in underground water. Already, the World Bank has dispatched a team to assess the situation and restore hope to the people.
The Bongo District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Alexis Adugdaa, made this known in an interaction with the media at Bongo on the performance of the Assembly for the years 2013 and 2014. He said a consultant,TBN/Holix, was working on the Small Town Water system in the district and has been tasked to carry out the needed estimates and submit proposals for the necessary intervention to be executed.
"All things being equal, the district would receive special assistance in the form of additional water systems and I must reiterate that the World Bank is committed to solving the Bongo water problem once and for all,� he said.
Ongoing projects
According to Mr Adugdaa, two small water supply systems were being constructed at Soe and Zorkor at a cost of over GHC3 million. He said 20 borehole water systems in 20 communities in the district were also being carried out.
"A number of sanitary facilities are also being provided to enhance activities of the Community-Led Total Sanitation Programme(CLTS). The programme, on completion, is expected to bring an end to the bad practice of people defaecating in the open and would signify the first significant step to ensuring behavioural change,� he said.
The Bongo DCE said over GH�5.4 million was spent on educational infrastructure between 2013 and 2014.
"We are also striving hard to bring education closer to the people, especially the most vulnerable in the society, including children and the physically challenged, and hope to bridge the gender gap in education,"he stressed.
He stated further that under the Secondary Education Improvement Project, three senior high schools (SHSs) at Zorkor,Gowrie and Bongo were each benefitting from a $200,000 package for infrastructural development.
He pointed out that under a project, each needy student in SHS, many of whom are girls, would benefit from a scholarship package worth $120,000.
Challenges
Mr Adugdaa said despite achievements chalked up over the two-year period under review, the district still had some challenges.
They included, he said, late disbursement of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF), low revenue mobilisation, low capital base of both micro and medium scale enterprises and, therefore, low tax revenues for the assembly and the over-reliance on grants for development projects.
The Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, Naba Baba Salifu Aleemyaarum, lauded the well-thought-out initiatives of the assembly and the government and entreated the citizens of the area to support the development agenda for the district.
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