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Regional News of Wednesday, 3 March 2004

Source: Chronicle

Teshie residents in no vote mood

- want water now

Residents of Teshie, a suburb of Accra, have threatened not to vote this year if their perennial water problem is not solved. According to Abdul Rashid Sowah, the leader of the youth in the area, they would participate in the voters? registration exercise even though they had decided not to exercise their franchise in this year?s elections.

In an interview with The Chronicle, Rashid Sowah said the suburb received water twice a week and in extreme cases, some parts received none at all.

?This phenomenon has greatly affected the lives of the residents in the area in terms of their every day life?, he noted.

Citing an example, he said school children had to spend a lot of time in search of water before they went to school.

However, Mr S.G.O Lamptey, Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited, at a press conference last week, explained that the unplanned nature of the country, especially the urban centres, made it difficult to lay pipe lines.This situation, he said, had resulted in shortage of water supply in some parts of the capital.

He said the company was however working hard within its capacity to ensure that water reached every part of the country .

Mr Lamptey however disclosed that the company had gotten assistance from the World Bank to embark on supply of water in Koforidua, Nsawam and its environs and a Dutch contractor had been assigned to undertake the project.

Meanwhile, Mr Lamptey appealed to the general public to exercise restraint as the company moved into action to address the problem.