info@businessghana.com
The Volta Region needs at least 900 boreholes to ensure reliable access to safe water in the communities, the Regional Minister, James Gunu, has disclosed.
He said the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) has, therefore, embarked on a decisive move to address that challenge, as a priority for the 24-Hour Economy agenda.
“An economy which never sleeps requires water systems that never fail and sanitation structures that safeguard our public health, day and night,” he added.
Mr Gunu was speaking at the maiden Volta Water and Sanitation Dialogue in Ho last Sunday.
The forum was organised by the VRCC in collaboration with development-oriented civil society organisation, Community Focus Foundation (CFF-Ghana), to identify the water and sanitation challenges facing the region and seek bold solutions to them.
The one-day event which was on the theme: “Building resilient water and sanitation systems in the Volta Region - The role of relevant stakeholders.”
Mr Gunu said the challenges were an urgent call to action, and the VRCC was already responding to them vigorously.
For instance, he said, the VRCC had delivered mechanised boreholes for needy senior high schools, health centres, and communities in the Ho municipality, bringing relief to students, teachers, nurses and households.
Still on the 24-Hour Economy initiative, Mr Gunu mentioned the Volta Lake Corridor as a clear and highly lucrative feature for that laudable vision.
“By developing the corridor into a hub of aquaculture, water transport and water sports, we are not only creating jobs and boosting tourism; we are also strengthening the backbone of food security,” he added.
Mr Gunu stated that water and sanitation were not luxuries but rather fundamental necessities in every community.
“Every borehole drilled, every toilet constructed, every waste management system improved is an investment in health, in productivity and in the dignity of our people,” the regional minister said.
The Executive Director of CFF-Ghana, Richard Kasu, said it was now time for a shift from dialogue to transformation, and beyond borehole to a future where water security was the foundation of dignity, health and prosperity.
Later, the stakeholders in a communique said 15 per cent of the region’s population relied on limited and unimproved water sources, while only 28 per cent of the population had access to decent sanitation services, and 21 per cent still practised open defecation.
“These challenges represent a crisis of health, dignity, and economic potential, disproportionately affecting women, children, and rural communities,” the communique highlighted.
The communique, which was presented to the regional minister last Thursday, said the challenges required moving beyond isolated projects to an integrated approach that combined robust legal frameworks, innovative technical solutions, sustainable financing, gender equity and inclusivity in decision-making, and unwavering multi-stakeholder collaborations.
