President John Dramani Mahama has assured residents of Tamale and Damongo that the long-standing water crisis in the area will be resolved before the end of his tenure.
Speaking during the first day of his two-day working visit to the Northern Region, where he performed the sod-cutting ceremony for a 24-hour economy market at Kukuo, the President said concrete steps are being taken to address the challenge.
President Mahama disclosed that government had initially planned to secure a €77 million loan from the Eurobond market to finance the project. However, the plan fell through due to Ghana’s ongoing debt restructuring programme, which has limited access to international borrowing.
“We went to the Eurobond market to borrow €77 million for the project, but unfortunately, we could not secure it because of the country’s debt situation,” he explained.
Despite the setback, he reaffirmed government’s commitment to delivering the project, noting that alternative funding will be sourced locally.
“I have directed the Minister for Finance to find the equivalent of €77 million in Ghana cedis so we can undertake the project ourselves. As a native of Tamale, if I do not fix the water problem, nobody else will,” he stated.
According to the President, the proposed water system will deliver up to 30 million gallons of water per day to the Tamale metropolis, significantly improving supply.
In the interim, he said government has begun short-term interventions to ease the situation, including the replacement of old and inefficient pumping machines at Dalung.
“While preparations are underway for the new system, we are replacing the old pumps at Dalung to increase water supply. Some of the existing pumps are weak, but very soon residents will see improvement. We will also extend water supply from Yape to Tamale to ensure adequate distribution,” he added.
Source: Alhassan Sulemana Tarimbia/zaaradio.com
