165 Views Posted on 03-Mar-2011 under Environment

A sod has been cut for construction works to begin on the Tamale Water Supply Extension Project (TWEP).
The project would make it possible to supply potable water to 17 communities, in three districts, in the Northern Region.
The 5.3 million dollar project, which will be completed in October this year, is being funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), through the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) Ghana Compact programme.
It involves the construction of a 70-kilometer pipeline through the Tamale Metropolis, Savelugu-Nanton, and Tolon-Kumbungu Districts to extend pipelines, as well as standpipes, to the beneficiary communities, which are mostly farming communities.
TWEP is part of efforts to improve upon the water supply of the communities, which has a large number of Farmer Based Organizations (FBO), to help reduce the incidence of guinea worm and
other water related diseases, endemic in such areas.
The communities include Savelugu township, Tootenyili, Tibale, Kpendua, Pong Tamale, Gingani and Dimanzugu amongst others.
Mr Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, assisted by Mr Sam Nasamu Asabigi, Deputy Northern Regional Minister, including officials from
the MCC and MiDA, and traditional authorities in the three districts, together performed the sod cutting ceremony at Savelugu, in the Savelugu-Nanton District, on Wednesday.
Mr Afriyie-Ankrah said government had planned a number of development projects across the country, which it would be commissioning during the course of the year for the benefit of the people.
He commended MiDA for the excellent manner in which it had utilized the MCC fund and called on other government institutions to emulate MiDA and use monies allocated for projects rather than abandoning them.
Mr Asabigi urged the people to cultivate the habit of rain water harvesting, especially in the northern part of Ghana, to ensure that water was available at all times.
He also called for awareness creation on the need to maintain water bodies in the country.
Madam Katerina Ntep, Resident Country Director of MCC expressed the hope that, the completion of the project would mark the eradication of guinea worm disease in the country.
She called for concerted efforts by stakeholders and other partners to educate and raise awareness about safe water and sanitation practices, at the community level, to avoid the re-occurrence of the guinea worm disease.
Mr Martin Esson-Benjamin, Chief Executive Officer of MiDA expressed gratitude to the Government of the United States for its continued support of the programme.
Mr Esson-Benjamin called on the contractors executing the project to work speedily and efficiently to complete within the scheduled time.
The chiefs and peoples of the beneficiary communities commended government for extending the project to their communities.