The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has constructed four mechanised boreholes for the people of Dua in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region.

The mechanised borehole project is expected to bring relief to about 10,000 residents in three communities within the Dua Electoral Area. The beneficiary communities include Dua-Yikene, Dua-Yidongo, and Dua-Nayiri. The Dua Junior High School (JHS) has also been provided with a borehole facility.

Speaking at the handover ceremony held at Dua on Wednesday, the Upper East Regional Manager for PURC, Mr Seth Kponyo, said the construction of the water infrastructure formed part of the organisation’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.

The Executive Secretary of PURC, Dr Shafic Sulemana, stated that he was keen on resolving the water crisis in the region, particularly the acute water situation in Bongo.

It would be recalled that Dr Sulemana had earlier paid a working visit to the region to familiarise himself with the challenges associated with water and electricity supply. During his interaction with stakeholders, he pledged that the Commission would contribute significantly towards addressing the fluoride contamination in the Bongo District’s water sources.

“We are giving you this water infrastructure project because of our commitment to giving back to society. We know the water issue here in Bongo is dire, so when an illustrious son of this community wrote to us requesting that we intervene to correct the water problem, we could not do otherwise,”
— Mr Kponyo told beneficiaries at the ceremony.

He noted that the mechanised boreholes were powered by electricity and urged community members to cultivate a positive maintenance culture to ensure the sustainability of the project.

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Bongo, Mr Joseph Akasake Abaah, described the project as a huge relief to the assembly and the beneficiary communities.

He commended PURC for the initiative, acknowledging that successive governments and development partners, particularly WaterAid Ghana, had made sustained efforts to provide boreholes in the district, but challenges persisted due to the rapid population growth.