A non-governmental organisation Leader Joe 1808 Foundation has called on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, to prioritize the provision of fresh water supply to communities in Abuja.
The Acting Executive Director, Leader Joe 1808 Foundation, Mr. Success Ikponnwossa, made the call at the unveiling of the water project in Shere-Koro community, Mpape, at the weekend, in Abuja.
The project was, however, implemented by a cluster of NGOs namely: Leader Joe 1808 Foundation; The Ghana Aid Foundation; Mee and Cee Development Foundation and Halimat Humanitarian Foundation.
He said: “For me, he said he wants to uphold the master plan of FCT and I am sure he is concentrating on the municipal area, he is not looking at these remote communities that barely have light or water to drink. But, for me, my charge is that he should collaborate with NGOs.
“I know there is a CSR department in the FCDA but it is not functional, because I’ve been in this sector for a very long time, so they need to reactivate them so that they can have a cluster of NGOs who are doing things in the FCT, and then see how they can use to the NGO, instead of channeling money to vendors, like contractors to go and do substandard boreholes.”
He said the decision to offer clean water to rural communities stemmed from the abysmal state they had been in for years, particularly with no access to clean water.
Speaking on the importance of water, he said the solar-powered borehole water facility, equipped with modern filtration and purification systems, is not only expected to improve the overall health and well-being of the community but also to increase economic opportunities and alleviate poverty in the region.
“So at the time we were doing our survey around the communities in our FCT, we discovered that Shere actually had these boreholes, but for the past two years, this boreholes have been damaged, no repairs, nothing, no maintenance so they all resorted to stream and well water and if you go to the stream it is very shallow.
“So, we see that there are a lot of women in this community, a lot of children in this community, and even pregnant women and they need clean water. So, we decided that yes, we should be able to refurbish and upgrade the solar power to serve the community and that is why we have to pick here so you can make the desired impact”, he said
