The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission has completed borehole installations in 21 underserved communities as part of its PURC Goal Water Project, a pro-poor initiative undertaken in collaboration with Ghana Water Limited to extend potable water access to areas not covered by the national supply network.
Pious Abdulai Ikililu, the Commission’s Upper East Regional Public Relations Officer, said the project, launched in 2022, was conceived after the Commission identified communities where Ghana Water Limited had not extended infrastructure, leaving residents dependent on inadequate community water systems.
“The popular paradigm was that water is life. So the Commission thought it wise to come up with a PURC Goal Water Project to ensure that the less privileged communities get access to potable drinking water,” Ikililu said.
According to data presented at a media engagement Saturday, 61 boreholes are planned under the project, distributed across 11 districts in the Upper East Region. Work on most projects is ongoing, with 21 installations fully completed and in use.
“As we speak, about 21 of them have been successfully completed. And the communities are using them for drinking and other purposes.”
The project covers communities across Chereponi (4 boreholes), Bunkpurugu (7), East Mamprusi (4), Yagaba/Kubori (4), West Mamprusi (8), Tempane (5), Talensi (6), Bawku West (4), Kassena Nankana West (6), Bongo (9), and Binduri (4). Specific communities receiving boreholes include Jilma, Namiriku, Tosala Ando and Chereponi Township in the Chereponi District; and nine communities within the Bongo District.
Ikililu said nine communities within the Bongo District now have access to potable water as a result of the project alone.
The Commission installs both boreholes and overhead water tanks to improve storage and distribution in the targeted communities. Ikililu said the project was being executed in consultation with Ghana Water Limited to ensure technical alignment with national water supply standards.
Beyond boreholes, the Commission also outlined a series of additional consumer-oriented interventions, including the establishment of Consumer Service Committees in Yagaba and Bunkpurugu to extend the Commission’s reach into areas distant from its regional office, the placement of customer service officers at all NEDCo outstations, and the procurement of new offices for the Navrongo and Sandema outstations to improve consumer-facing service conditions.
“We move beyond just setting tariffs to ensure that there’s continuous supply of water and electricity in Ghana and also to ensure improvements in the quality of service,” he said.
Ikililu said the Commission’s Accounting to the People programme further compels utility providers to publicly account to affected communities for persistent service failures, with the Commission attaching timelines and monitoring compliance.
A1 Radio | 101.1 Mhz | Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith | Bolgatanga
