General News of Tuesday, 7 November 2017
Source: citifmonline.com
2017-11-07
Abdulai Yaquob, Nanumba North District Chief Executive
Some youth suspected to be supporters of the New Patriotic Party, backed by the Nanumba North District Chief Executive, Abdulai Yaquob, have taken control of the community water system at Binbcheratanga in the Nanumba North District of Northern Region.
This has led to a water shortage over the past four days in Binbcheratanga, forcing residents to trek long distances to a single borehole for water at the risk of cholera.
The chief of Binbcheratanga, Naa Andani Azuma, recounted to Citi News that, NPP youth came to him demanding to manage the water system by taking over from the old management.
“A group of young men came to my palace asking me to hand over the keys to my water plant to them. I asked them why and the told me they the NPP youth now want to manage the system because their party is in power,” the chief said.
Naa Andani Azuma added that, he intended to wait for an official directive from the DCE, and later that evening, he said he “received a letter from the DCE directing me to hand over the keys.”
“The youth then came again and told me to give them the keys and I asked them who their leader was and they couldn’t answer. I again refused and around three pm on Monday, the DCE himself came and collected the keys.”
The old management of the facility, which was constituted on a non-partisan basis, was given three months training on how to manage the system, but it appears the current managers have been operating without the required expertise.
Women and children suffering
“Now women and children are suffering. They can’t get water. The taps are not flowing,” Naa Andani Azuma added.
The situation has greatly inconvenienced the farming community stalling farming activities, as some residents lamented.
“When day breaks, children don’t have water to bath before they go to school. We are all farmers so women have to search for water before they go to the farm which takes them maybe a whole day so we can’t work. We fight among ourselves and it will take you ten hours before you get one drum of water to the house,” one resident told Citi News.
Citi News has not been able to reach the Nanumba North DCE’s for comment.
There have been several cases of political vigilantism by perceived youth of the party, since the NPP took over office in January 2017.
The government has been accused of not biting enough in most of the cases, a situation that many believes emboldens more people to engage in these acts.
