The residents of Kantu community in the Wa West District say inadequate potable water sources in the area have a grave toll on their socio-economic lives as productive hours are spent searching for water for domestic use.
According to them, women and girls in the community bore the brunt of the water access challenge since they were clothed with the responsibility of providing water for their families.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News agency (GNA) at the community, Ms Monica Yiriwele, a resident, said the situation adversely affected women’s economic activities and the education of girls in that community.
She said women and girls spent hours queuing at the only single functional borehole at the community to provide water for their families before they could engage in any other activity.
The about 600 population community depended on only two boreholes for water for both domestic use and for feeding their livestock, but one of them could not yield enough water to meet their needs.
In critical situations, their livestock – cattle, sheep and goats – had to access water from the Black Volta, which was about 3 km from the community, and some of the animals got lost in the process.
“The water situation here is creating enmity among us, especially the women because we sometimes quarrel over who is to fetch first and who follows.
“Sometimes you can go to the borehole as early as 6 a.m. and by the time you return home it will be around 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.” Ms Yiriwele lamented.
The residents indicated that school children sometimes missed lessons because they spent much time competing for water at the borehole.
Mr Anas Yaraa, a resident, stated that the situation was affecting their livestock production and appealed for an additional borehole to reduce their challenge in accessing potable water at the community.
Meanwhile, Mr Abudi Abu, the Assembly of the Wechiau Electoral Area, confirmed the situation to the GNA and said it was dire during the dry season.
“During the rainy season they depend on a nearby stream but in the dry season, they struggle a lot”, he stated.
Mr Abu said he had raised the situation at Assembly Meetings and reported it to the Wa West Member of Parliament (MP) but he was yet to receive any positive response.
He said he was liaising with other Non-governmental Organisations working in the Wa West District, including Plan International Ghana and hoping the NGOs would intervene.
Development advocates argue that the importance of universal access to safe and potable drinking water for all citizens cannot be underestimated in the development of a country.
Goal 6 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seeks to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” by 2030.
Target 6.1 of the Goals says: “By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all”.
However, the 2021 population and Housing Census report indicates that 87.7 percent of households in Ghana have access to basic drinking water services, with 96.4 and 74.4 per cent in Urban and rural areas respectively.
In the Upper West Region basic water services access was 78.0 per cent – 93.2 per cent in urban areas and 70.9 per cent in rural areas.