The residents of Ullo-Dantie in the Jirapa Municipality say a newly commissioned solar-powered mechanised water system in the community will help reduce their plight in accessing safe and potable drinking water in the community. WaterAid Ghana (WAG) constructed the water facility valued at about GH?650,000.00, with funding from Guinness Ghana Breweries PLC under its Water for Life programme as part of its Cooperate Social Responsibility and executed by ALIOS Company Limited. Ing. Sampson Aheleh Tettey, the Head of Sustainable Services Programmes of WAG, commissioned the facility on behalf of the Country Director of WAG, Madam Ewurabena Yanyi-Akofur. Expressing their joy about the facility, the residents indicated that it would meaningfully impact all aspects of their lives including health and economic activities. Madam Anastasia Mornyuu, a resident, said she nearly divorced her husband due to the difficulties accessing potable water for her household. She added that the facility would reduce the challen ges they go through to get water at the healthcare facility before they could access healthcare services. 'When you send a pregnant woman to deliver at the Health Centre, they will ask you to bring water. Anything you will need water to do at the clinic, you must send it. But now we will not have to go through that again,' Madam Mornyuu explained. Mr Richard Young Tara, another resident, said with the new water system their wives would engage in their economic activities including harvesting shea nuts without worrying about getting water for their families. Naa Baburononi Amadu Hassan, the Chief of Ullo, thanked WAG and Guinness Ghana for the gesture and assured them of maintaining the facility to ensure it lived its expected lifespan for future generations to benefit. On his part, Ing. Tettey said the commissioning of the facility marked a significant milestone in their partnership and collaboration with Guinness Ghana to provide safe and reliable drinking water to communities, which had impacted over 6 0,000 people. He observed that the sustainability of water facilities had been a major challenge and appealed to the community members to own and take control of the facility to ensure it served its intended purpose. Ing Tettey said a Water and Sanitation Management Team (WSMT) had been formed and trained to take charge in managing the facility. He appealed to the community members to cooperate with the WSMT in the facility's use and management. He also urged the municipal assembly to use the life-cycle-cost approach to plan for the sustainability of the facility. Mr Alfred Nunoo, the Tamale Area Sales Manager of Guineas Ghana, said the intervention was essential in advancing the company's sustainability programme, its 'Society 2030' agenda. 'For us at Guinness Ghana, we believe that sustainable access to clean drinking water and sanitation is the bedrock for building strong and thriving communities across our operational areas,' he explained. He said over ten communities within northern Ghana had so f ar benefited from the programme, giving many women and children opportunities to low-stress lives through sustainable access to safe drinking water. Madam Florence Angsomwine, the Jirapa Municipal Health Director of Health Services, said the water facility would positively impact healthcare service delivery in the community as water was a necessity for healthcare delivery. She indicated that it would, among other things, help reduce the menace of waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea in the community. Mr Nicolas Soyiri, the Jirapa Municipal Chief Executive, said the Assembly's partnership with WAG and Guinness Ghana to provide water for communities was phenomenal as the Assembly alone could not meet the needs of the communities. The facility had the capacity to produce 76,000 litres of water per day, tapped into the Ullo Health Centre at all points of service and a six-spout vending point installed within the community. The newly commissioned water facility at Ullo-Dantie was the third facility construct ed by WAG in partnership with Guinness Ghana in the Jirapa Municipality after similar facilities were constructed at Gbare and Sabuli communities in 2023 and 2022, respectively. Source: Ghana News Agency