As part of preparations towards the commencement of the Damongo Water Project, officers from Ghana Water Limited (GWL) led by the Regional Chief Manager for Northern Region Engineer Briaimah Rashid Soale has engaged Assembly Members, Chiefs and other relevant stakeholders of West Gonja Municipality at the Damongo Community Center on Wednesday, 9th September 2026.
In a his opening remarks, Engineer Briaimah Rashid Soale said the engagement was aimed at providing Assembly Members, who serve as the mouthpiece of the people, with first-hand information about the forthcoming project and giving stakeholders the opportunity to seek clarification and raise concerns before the project moves to the next stage.
Engineer Rashid Soale assured stakeholders of their commitment to completing all necessary stakeholder consultations by the end of this year. They further indicated that the project is expected to commence in the middle of 2027.
The Assembly Members expressed their strong support for the project and raised a number of concerns regarding its coverage, implementation, sustainability and expected benefits to residents.
Among the key issues raised were the commencement and completion timelines of the project, the communities and zones expected to benefit, the provision of reservoirs and the nature of household connections.
The Assembly Members also sought clarification on whether communities including Kinanto, Canteen, SOR 1, SOR 2, SOR 3, Mognori, Murugu, Langatere, Bidima and Lorto would be captured under the project.
They highlighted the water challenges confronting some of these communities, with particular concerns about communities where existing water sources are either inadequate or unsuitable for human consumption.
Canteen Assembly Member called for the provision of a reservoir at the Canteen Zone to support sustainability and urged the project leadership to involve the youth of Damongo in the implementation of the project.
He argued that the youth are willing and ready to work and therefore appealed to the contractor to give preference to qualified young people from Damongo rather than bringing labourers from outside the municipality.
Another major concern was the need for a clear roadmap for the completion of the project, as well as clarification on whether water would be stored in reservoirs before distribution or supplied directly to households through pipelines.
Assembly Member for Dass electoral area Hon. Hafiz Kamara raised concerns about the GWL water project at Broto, noting that the project has been completed and should be put to proper use to benefit residents, considering the resources already invested by GWL.
Responding to the concerns Mr Abdul Fatawu Tambro who is the Manager for Environmental and Social Safeguards at GWL Head Office explained that their immediate priority is to complete all stakeholder engagements by the end of 2026.
He indicated that, hopefully, the project will commence by the middle of 2027 and is expected to take approximately 24 months to complete.
On the coverage of rural communities, Mr. Tambro explained that GWL’s primary responsibility is to provide water to urban areas. However, they assured stakeholders that communities along the project route would also benefit through the provision of heavy-duty polytanks to support those areas.
On youth employment, he assured stakeholders that the youth of Damongo would be given opportunities to work on the project.
He however, urged the youth to demonstrate good work ethics and maintain a positive attitude towards work, stressing that contractors would naturally prefer to work with people who are disciplined and committed to their responsibilities.
Mr Tambro further explained that water would be supplied directly to households through pipelines and stand pipes.
He disclosed that the target is to connect a maximum of 5,000 households to the water supply through the pipeline network.
He also appealed to the Chiefs to assist in fast-tracking documentation relating to land litigation to prevent such issues from delaying the commencement of the project.
On the provision of reservoirs, he disclosed that there would be three major reservoirs located at Busunu, Damongo, Mole and Larabanga, respectively.
Touching on the Broto Water System, they assured stakeholders that the facility would be put to proper use.
They stressed that no property belonging to GWL would be left unused, particularly considering the significant amount of money that has already been invested in the project.
The MCE for Damongo Hon. Yakubu Yussif Castro who joined the engagement later in his closing remarks expressed his deep appreciation to the leadership of Ghana Water Limited for engaging the Assembly Members and other stakeholders.
He assured the project leadership of the Municipality’s unflinching support and commitment towards ensuring the successful implementation of the Damongo Water Project.
The stakeholder engagement came to an end with renewed commitments from both GWL and the Assembly to work together to ensure the successful implementation of the project and ultimately improve access to potable water for residents within the Damongo Municipality. Below is the voice of the MCE for Damongo.
