Supply water to Ablekuma South — Oko Vanderpuije

The Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South, Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, has appealed to the government to, as a matter of urgency, provide potable water to water-deprived communities within the constituency.

He said currently 80 per cent of the communities in the area, including Korle Gonno, Mamprobi, Chorkor, Korle Bu and New Mamprobi, had had no running water for the past four months.

The challenge, he said, was appalling as it could trigger alarming spread of the deadly respiratory disease, COVID-19, in the communities if urgent steps were not taken to solve the acute water shortage facing the communities.

“If we are calling on people to wash their hands with running water, the government should support efforts to provide water to the residents to encourage them to observe hygienic practices to stop the spread of COVID-19,” he said.

Search for water

Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, Dr Vanderpuije said: “The taps in the communities are not flowing and children, mothers and fathers are all trying to get access to potable water which does not exist.

“The call to use running water and avert the spread of COVID-19 will come to nought if the people do not have constant running water and do not get free hand sanitisers to disinfect their hands in this critical moment,” he said.

Preventive measure

The former Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) noted that the Ministry of Health, as a preventive measure, had been urging Ghanaians to adhere to regular hand washing to combat the spread of the Coronavirus.

In line with that call, he said, as the MP for the Ablekuma South, he had been facilitating the carting of water tankers to the various communities to allow the people access to potable water.