Residents of Oli, a community in the Wa West District, are sending an urgent plea to benevolent organisations and the government as a worsening water crisis takes a toll on education, health, and daily life. Despite repeated appeals to district authorities, the community remains without a reliable source of potable water. The situation has reached a breaking point, with schoolchildren and the elderly bearing the brunt of the shortage.
Their strength is failing them, and they cannot travel these distances. It leaves them completely distressed, especially during the peak of the dry season.
For the women of Oli, the daily search for water has become a gruelling marathon. Many are forced to walk several miles to a distant dam to fetch water that is often unsafe to drink.
“Old women are the worst hit,” disclosed Mariam Maane, a resident. “Their strength is failing them, and they cannot travel these distances. It leaves them completely distressed, especially during the peak of the dry season.”
The crisis is also reportedly straining the social fabric of the community. Residents noted that the hours spent trekking for water have disrupted domestic life and productivity, with some even pointing to a decline in community well-being and personal relationships due to the sheer exhaustion of the daily search for a basic necessity.
The community’s hopes were briefly raised during the 2024 election period when the NPP parliamentary candidate, Mr Saatiri James Kpir-Faatey, began work on a borehole. However, the project was reportedly left unfinished following his electoral defeat. Sources close to Mr Kpir-Faatey indicated that he has since handed the project over to the community to enable them to reach out to the authorities for assistance.
“I have written to the community as I handed over [the project] to them to use it to appeal to the Assembly to help fix the situation,” he stated in a response to digmerobert.com.
Addressing the stalemate, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Wa West, Hon. Richard Wulo, acknowledged the dire situation in Dorimon Oli. He explained that the Assembly is ready to intervene but is hindered by administrative hurdles.
“We have advised the community to contact the former candidate to officially hand over the borehole project,” Hon. Wulo stated. “Once it is officially handed over, the Assembly can legally take over and provide the funding required to complete it.”
The community is currently unable to confirm exactly when the project was handed over but has promised to conduct the necessary follow-ups. They hope this will finally clear the way for any well-meaning authority to come to their aid and save them from the daily struggle of accessing potable water.
Once it is officially handed over, the Assembly can legally take over and provide the funding required to complete it
The crisis extends into the classroom. Without water or proper sanitary facilities on-site, pupils at the local school are forced to abandon lessons to search for water. This local struggle reflects a broader district-wide issue. During the recent Independence Day celebrations, the District Director of Education, Mr Amatus Tug-uu, highlighted that many schools in Wa West lack access to clean water and sanitation, forcing students to walk long distances, a factor that significantly hampers learning outcomes.
Community leaders, including Abu Angwanuba, noted that while some religious groups have attempted to sink boreholes in the past, technical failures have left them unusable. The people of Oli are now calling on their Member of Parliament, the District Assembly, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to break the deadlock and provide a permanent solution to ensure that “water is life” becomes a reality for the district.
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Cries of Dorimon Oli: The Water Situation
