Water Treatment Plant For Tono (5th December 2011 by Benjamin Xornam Glover)

The government has secured a 40-million euro loan for the construction of a water treatment plant at Tono in the Kassena-Nankana East District to serve the people of Bolgatanga, Navrongo and Paga.

This is meant to increase water coverage significantly in the bid to meet the millennium development goal for water and sanitation.
It will complement the Vea water treatment plant, which is currently under expansion with a $5-million loan.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, announced this at a regional meet-the-press series organised by the Ministry of Information at Bolgatanga.

Mr Woyongo said the government was seeking to increase coverage of sustainable potable water supply to 76 per cent by 2015 through increasing investment funding in the region.

He said the government was dedicated to making funds available for the region to re-test the fluoride levels in all capped boreholes and as well improve logistical support for effective monitoring.

Mr Woyongo said although water coverage in the region was about 69.14 per cent, which was comparatively better than what obtains in other regions, the dispersed settlement pattern of the region had led to some people commuting more than one kilometre to fetch potable water.

He, however, enumerated some steps being taken to address the situation, including the completion of five small town water supply systems with eight others near completion levels.

In addition, 200 boreholes had been awarded on contract for drilling with procurement process for drilling of additional 591 boreholes being ongoing.

Touching on other development projects in the region over the past three years, Mr Woyongo mentioned the construction of six steel bridges valued at GH¢4,039,130.60 with about 580.93 kilometres of roads being reshaped at a cost GH¢1,869.756.34.

The regional minister said GH¢10,152.707.82 went into spot improvement and minor rehabilitation works on 191.03 kilometres of roads and surfacing of a 44.0 kilometres of feeder roads.

He said 14.5 kilometres of highway projects had been awarded for upgrading while there was bitumen surfacing of 75 kilometres of roads at a cost of GH¢3,238.925.95.

He said sealing and resealing of the Bolgatanga town roads had been completed, adding that the Bolgatanga-Bawku road through to Pusiga Junction, the Bolgatanga-Bongo road , the Winkongo-Tongo and Sandema-Wiesi roads had been prioritised for 2012.

The regional minister said works on the Nakong-Tumu road had also commenced.

Concerning education, he said the region suffered deficits in the areas of infrastructure which was aggravated by rainstorms that affected most schools and that the government had embarked on the provision of more education infrastructural facilities to improve the situation.

He said at the second cycle institution level alone, over 100 projects, comprising dormitories, classroom blocks and auditoriums, had been built, adding that over 180 schools under trees had been replaced with classroom blocks and rural and urban area schools that hitherto ran the shift system had been removed.

Mr Woyongo said 2,150,000 free exercise books, 33,353 free school uniforms, increase in the capitation grant and provision of 150 laptops to ten basic schools were evidences of the commitment of the government to improve the educational sector.

The regional minister said five agriculture mechanisation service centres had been established with 25 tractors, five each for each centre.

To improve threshing and post-harvest quality grain, Mr Woyongo said the region had taken delivery of multi-grain threshers for sale to farmers while five combine harvesters had been received for sale to farmers.

The regional minister said 20 dams in various communities were being rehabilitated to support dry season irrigation, livestock and domestic use, adding that the government had provided funds for the payment of the contractor rehabilitating the Tono Irrigation project.

The Minister for Information, Mr. John Tia Akologu, explained the rationale for the regional meet-the-press series, stressing that it would provide the citizenry information on the achievement of the government.

Mr Akologu, who is also the MP for Talensi, called on the media to use the platform to promote healthy debates that would focus on developments around them.

He also reiterated the need for peace as the nation prepared for general election