Seventeen communities in the Upper East region have benefited from a borehole construction project undertaken by The Royal Bank Foundation.
The foundation which is a subsidiary of the Royal Bank, a privately owned Ghanaian bank has a major objective of giving back to society in the realm of corporate social responsibilities. Prior to the commissioning of 19 boreholes spread in various communities of the upper east region, the foundation had since its inauguration in August 2014 constructed 41 boreholes in the Greater Accra, Central, Western, Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo regions.
Speaking at a short ceremony in Ketiu a beneficiary community in the Kassena nankana West district to commission the boreholes, board chairman of the Royal Bank Dr. Kofi Konadu Sarpong said the foundation was setup to drive the corporate social responsibility aspect of the bank with a clear intention of providing water for needy communities. He explained that the initiative is in fulfilment of the wish of the founder of the bank Dr. Adamu Iddrisu, a native of Ketiu to sink at least 60 boreholes each year.
According to Dr. Sarpong, though the bank operates mainly in the southern part of the country, all communities in the country stand the chance of benefiting from its corporate social responsibility.
“We operate mainly in the southern sector but we think that those who benefit mainly from our business span across the country and not necessarily in Accra where we have majority of our branches. People do business across the country so therefore whatever we have to give out as a corporate social responsibility can be extended to every part of the country and that is precisely why we are here.”
He noted that providing such source of water for various communities is the flagship charitable venture of the foundation especially in the north where many communities are bedeviled with challenges in having access to good drinking water.
Assembly member for Begwebia electoral area Hon. Mumuni Abdullai Nyorka said the intervention of the foundation has brought so much relief to his community following severe challenges with access to good drinking water.
Kusingu community until the construction of the borehole did not have a source of good drinking water but relied only on hand-dug out wells. Though several appeals and follow ups were made to the district assembly, the problem lingered on. This according to the assembly member brought about despondency and feel of neglect to people of the community.
“Am very fulfilled and pleased with this gesture and I must say we thank Royal Bank so much for coming to our aid,” he said.
In all, six districts including Kassena Nankana municipal, Kassena Nankana West, Kassena Nankana East, Builsa North, Builsa South and Nabdam benefited from the initiative with several other boreholes in the Upper West region yet to be commissioned.
By: Azongo Albert | A1RADIOONLINE.com | GHANA
