Residents of Sokoban, within the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly in the Ashanti region, are threatening to stage a demonstration due to a prolonged lack of water supply in their communities.
The water shortage began three months ago when a contractor working on the Daban-Sokoban road, Kofi Jobs Construction Limited, accidentally damaged local pipelines.
The residents claim that the company failed to relocate the water pipes during the early stages of the road construction, which has left many communities without access to water from the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).
The residents also allege that despite Kofi Jobs Construction Limited compensating GWCL for the damages, the water company has refused to fix the problem.
Kwadwo Boateng, the Assembly member for the area, stated that efforts to resolve the issue with both Kofi Jobs Construction Limited and GWCL have been unsuccessful.
He warned that if the situation is not addressed promptly, the residents will organize a demonstration to demand action
“The water supply has been cut off for the past three months since the contractor started work. Residents have to resort to purchasing pure water, school children are on vacation, else the situation would have been worse. The contractor said he has given GWL money to fix the pipelines, but GWL has also denied receiving any payments. We have threatened to embark on a demonstration soon,” he said.
Speaking on Channel One News, some of the residents expressed their frustration and called on the authorities to fix the situation.
“We’re are suffering, we have to boil water from a well before we’re able to use it for anything meaningful. Our kids who fetch the water from a far distance go through a lot, they have been experiencing headaches and all that. For drinking purposes, we buy pure water,” a worried resident said.
Another resident also said, “Those of us who rely on water for our business it is affecting us. We don’t have water supply at our various places of work, and when you get home too, it’s difficult to get water as well. The authorities should try and work things out for us.”
Reacting to the accusations, the Ghana Water Company Limited refuted the claims that money had been paid to its outfit to fix the challenge.
“I think the question we are supposed to ask is how much is the money we are talking about and when was it paid? The current issue we have with Sokoban, we have not received any monetary commitment from Kofi Jobs, which is why we’re unable to go and fix the issues.
“So, as it stands, there are no monetary payments received by GWL from Kofi Jobs, I understand their frustration, we’re here to serve them,” Ebenezer Padi Narh the Ashanti regional public relations officer of GWL said.
