By Valentia Tetteh
The Member of Parliament for Effutu Constituency and Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called for urgent government intervention to address a severe water crisis affecting the Effutu Municipality.
In a statement addressed to the Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources and copied to the Managing Director of Ghana Water Limited, Mr Afenyo-Markin said the disruption of water supply had persisted for more than two weeks, leaving the majority of communities without potable water.
“I write to urgently draw your attention to the disruption of water supply in the Efutu Municipality which has persisted unresolved for more than two weeks,” he stated.
According to him, the situation has created unbearable hardship for the municipality’s estimated population of 140,000. “This prolonged shutdown has created unbearable hardship for the population, and its effects are being felt across every sector of community life,” the statement added.
The Minority Leader outlined the impact of the crisis on key sectors:
- Public health: “Hospitals, clinics, and health centres are unable to maintain the minimum standards of hygiene required for patient care. The risk of outbreaks of cholera, dysentery, and other waterborne diseases has escalated sharply.”
- Education: “Schools and tertiary institutions are struggling to operate in the absence of safe water. Sanitation within educational facilities has broken down, with direct implications for the health and safety of pupils and students.”
- Households: “Families are compelled to rely on irregular and costly private water suppliers. Vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly, bear the heaviest burden.”
Mr. Afenyo-Markin has therefore appealed to the Ministry and Ghana Water Limited to take immediate steps to restore a regular and safe water supply to the Efutu Municipality.
“I therefore respectfully urge your ministry and Ghana Water Limited to take immediate remedial action to restore regular and safe water supply to the Efutu Municipality,” the statement concluded.
