Residents of Jerusalem, a farming community in the Ada West District of the Greater Accra Region, have expressed frustration over the persistent lack of potable water in the area despite several appeals to authorities.
The residents said the situation has left them feeling neglected and excluded from development plans of the district assembly.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), a community leader, Mr Ngmlotey Amlalo, explained that the entire community currently depends on a Kia truck that transports water from distant communities to sell to residents.
According to him, whenever the vehicle developed a fault, the entire community was left without water until it was repaired.
He added that the alternative for many residents was to travel to nearby communities such as Sege, Lutah, and other distant areas to fetch water.
Mr Amlalo said the situation has severely affected daily life in the community, stating that “sometimes students cannot go to school because there is no water for them to bath with, and cooking also becomes difficult for our women when the vehicle breaks down.”
He also recounted an incident where a boy who had been sent to fetch water from a distant community was knocked down by a vehicle and nearly lost his life.
According to him, during periods of extreme scarcity, residents were sometimes forced to rely on stagnant rainwater and occasionally competed with cattle at water sources when fetching it for household use.
Some residents also expressed disappointment in local leadership, claiming that authorities mostly visited the community during election periods but rarely returned to address their challenges.
The residents made these remarks after a clean-up exercise organised in Ayisa and Jerusalem by the assembly members of the area.
Dr David Amuyao Narh, Assembly Member for the Badzoohe–Luta Electoral Area, told the GNA that he had written several letters and reminders to the offices of the District Chief Executive and both past and present Members of Parliament about the situation, but no action had been taken.
“I have tabled these and other challenges affecting communities under my jurisdiction before the assembly. Even on the floor of discussions at the assembly, I speak passionately about these issues,” he said.
Mr Narh added that he had also sent audio and video evidence of the community’s challenges to the members of parliament and the district chief executive and was hoping to receive a positive response.
He appealed to residents to remain patient while efforts were made to resolve the water challenges facing the electoral area.
