Joseph Nelson is the Western Regional Minister
Joseph Nelson, Western Regional Minister, has warned against human activities encroaching on the land belonging to Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) at its treatment site at Daboase in the Wassa East District.
Consequently, the Minister has ordered Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to urgently demarcate the buffer zone at the Daboase treatment plant site to halt these negative human activities threatening the land within the demarcated area.
The move, he says, aims at protecting the seventy million euro (£70m) water expansion project currently being undertaken to supply twenty two (22) million gallons of water per day to Sekondi-Takoradi and its surrounding communities.
According to the Minister, despite the visible encroachment taking place, landowners are claiming to know virtually nothing about these bizarre development.
The Minister gave the warning during his familiarization visit to the Daboase treatment plant.
Following revelations about the encroachment activities, he immediately directed Ghana Water Company Limited to quickly demarcate buffer zones around the enclave urgently.
This move, he said follows claims of ignorance by the landowners around the affected areas.
The Minister also instructed local chiefs in the area to halt any planned activities within the designated zones.
“The chiefs who sold land within the buffer zone claim ignorance, stating they didn’t know it was a restricted area. To prevent further encroachment, I suggest installing signposts to clearly mark the buffer zone as a no-go area.
If ignored, the law should take its course. I urge the District Chief Executive to address this issue with the chiefs.
He emphasized that their actions are illegal and threaten the water supply for the metropolis and its surrounding communities.
“We will ensure they understand that the development of the project won’t be allowed despite clearing already done” he warned.
The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and GWCL launched a seventy million Euro water Expansion Project in Sekondi-Takoradi in May 2022.
Austrian firm Strabag was contracted to build a 22 million gallons per day Daboase water treatment plant.
During the Western Regional Minister’s visit, Strabag reported 86% completion, with an expected finishing date of November 7, 2025.
Vlad Falup, Project Manager for Strabag Engineering, explained that, “All main structures are complete. We’re currently working on the high-lift pumping station, which houses the pumps that will transport water to Inchaban and other pumping stations.
The mechanical equipment is in place, and though the tanks are underground with structures above, we are confident we will finish by November 7, 2025”.
Gideon Asare Annor, Western Regional Manager in charge of production at Ghana Water Company Limited, is worried about the development.
“As you can see, the buffer zone has been completely encroached upon, which means, this river will likely dry up faster than usual during the dry season.
This would render our 22 million gallons per day treatment plant idle, which would be unfortunate.
The encroachment is evident, especially since the area is prone to erosion.
Ideally, the buffer zone should start further up to prevent runoff and protect the water source,” he stressed.
The Daboase water treatment plant was built in the late 1960s with a capacity of six million gallons supply day, and the Inchaban plant, with four million gallons daily but they all struggle now to meet demand for Sekondi-Takoradi and all its surrounding areas.
Interestingly, climate change, avoidable human activities, including Illegal mining, have increased water turbidity, therefore reducing production from 6 million gallons per day to just above 16,000 gallons per day.
The water supply is further threatened by encroachment around the buffer zones protecting the water source, especially during the dry season.
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