BECHEM WATER AND SANITATION BOARD HOLDS OPEN FORUM WITH STAKEHOLDERS

The Bechem Water and Sanitation Board have held an open forum with Stakeholders on the Sustainability of the Bechem water system and sanitation in the township.

Welcoming participants at the forum, Mr Nicholas Kwarteng used the occasion to brief them on the purpose of the meeting and thanked them for honouring the invitation.

Addressing the gathering, the Tano South District Coordinating Director Mrs Agartha Ahia thanked Nananom and all presents. She said the theme for the meeting “Sustainability of the Bechem Water System, a shared Responsibility” could not have been chosen for granted since it was all our collective responsibility to ensure that all was well with our water and sanitation system in the town.

Mrs Ahia said since the system’s sustenance was a collective responsibility, it behoved on each and every one to promptly pay water bills to enable the board  accrue revenue and to stand on its feet and  be able to run the system effectively. She also said, the meeting was to afford Stakeholders the opportunity the deliberate on how effectively all hand would be put on deck to run the system and sustain it.

In an address on the overview of the Bechem water system, the Administrator of the Bechem water board, Mr Kwabena Adu Gyamfi hinted that, the formation of the Board came about due to the acute water shortage the town was facing some years back and said this has come to, help the town due to measures the board put in place to improve the water system by constructing water treatment plants and boreholes in the town.

Mr Adu Gyamfi again said, the board since its inception has made tremendous efforts to improve the water system by constructing two additional overhead tanks at Bechem and Bechem Junction in addition to two fire hydrants at both localities and emphasized that plans are far ahead to extend the water supply to the nearby communities and also acquire a land to put up additional toilet facilities in the township.

Speaking on some of the challenges the board faces, he mention high electricity bills since  their water treatment plants runs on pre- paid metre system, he again said the construction of the Bechem town roads has also destroyed most of the underground pipes  with erosion also exposing most of the pipes.

Mr Adu Gyamfi said, the board intends to constantly service the pipes to enable us get safe drinking water and also hold constant meetings with Stakeholders to solicit their views on how effectively the system could be run and sustained.  

The meeting which received a live broadcast from a local FM station enabled the general public and stakeholders to ask questions and gives suggestions on the sustainability of the Bechem water system.