Pig, Tilapia farmers pollute Volta River at Shai

Tilapia has gained popularity among Ghana's mid/high class
Pix credit: GBN

Certain communities in the Shai-Osudoku District (formerly Dangme West) in Southern Ghana, which depend on the Volta River for their source of drinking water, are complaining of massive pollution by pig and tilapia farmers.

In particular, Tenya and Atsavanya, which are located along the Volta in the area between Akuse and Asutsuare, claim their water is under heavy pollution from pig droppings and fish feed resulting in the water assuming a near poisonous state.

Consequently, Theophilus K. Lawer, Assembly member for Kadjanya Electoral Area, has been tasked to write to the Shai-Osudoku District Assembly in the Greater Accra Region to trigger action from the Water and Sanitation department of the assembly.  

This was one of many decisions taken regarding water access and safety during a citizens’-district assembly engagement session last Friday. About 30 representatives of seven communities were locked in the engagement session with personnel of the Shai-Osodoku District Assembly’s budget and Water and Sanitation offices. The session, dubbed Accountability Day, came off in Dodowa, the district capital, under the facilitation of ProNet Accra and sponsorship of WaterAid in Ghana.

“Our water is highly contaminated. The River is polluted by fish farming,” cried Stephen Kordzo, Secretary to the Water and Sanitation Committee of the Tenya community.

He narrated that besides the river-based fish ponds, pig pens are lined up on the shores of the Volta, resulting in the constant washing of pig droppings into the popular river. This, he said, discourages humans from consuming the water.

Thus, those who can afford to purchase sachet water as an alternative do so but families which cannot afford alternative sources are being compelled by their circumstance to drink the contaminated water.

Atsavanya, which is described as a twin community to Tenya, was reported to be facing the same challenge. The pair were also said to be host to households without toilets and makeshift public latrines giving rise to many instances of open defecation.  

In more than a dozen other communities in the district, including Volivo, Kewum, Sota, Osrongba and Abonya, the water quality situation was described as precarious while toilet facilities were said to be almost non-existent.

Among others, the community representatives asked for extension of pipelines to their communities to enable them access treated and safe drinking water. Others appealed for the support of the district assembly to enable them fix minor challenges with borehole systems, as well as, polytank water vending facilities.

On behalf of the District Assembly, Luke Kofi Asare, Account Technician on Water and Sanitation; Agnes Maku Korletey, Water and Sanitation Officer; and Yaw Kpabil, Assistant Budget Officer, gave assurances that the assembly was concerned about, and was working towards resolving the challenges. However, they appealed for patience, especially because the assembly had limited resources and was confined in terms of addressing all the challenges at a go.

Chaka Uzondu, Policy Manager at WaterAid in Ghana, was happy about the level of awareness of the community members and their demand for accountability. Nonetheless, he urged communities to continue to demand accountability. “Always hold those who are to be accountable, accountable. Whether we are an NGO or District Assembly, we work for you. Therefore, it is your responsibility to hold us accountable to ensure we work well for you.”

On the other hand, he said it was important for authorities to be transparent and open about their budgeting process, demonstrating to communities the process of project prioritization, allocations and expenditure, as well as, project delivery timelines.

For Mr Oduro Donkor, Executive Director of ProNet Association, the session was a success and met the set purpose. He told this writer that the purpose of the session was to encourage frank discussions between citizens and district assembly officials regarding challenges pertaining to access to water and sanitation services.

Essentially, the session was for citizens to tell the assembly about the challenges they faced with regards to access to Water and sanitation. The assembly, on the other hand, had the opportunity to “tell citizens about the enormity of their work and the difficulty with satisfying all community needs in a single year.”

Story also published in Monday, August 12, 2013 edition of the Public Agenda newspaper.