Residents of Tamale in the Northern Region are facing a particularly challenging Ramadan this year as they contend with extreme heat, severe water shortages, and intermittent power outages affecting most parts of the capital.
This year’s annual one month of Islamic fasting and prayers, known as Ramadan, fell at the beginning of the dry season, which usually comes with extreme hot and humid weather conditions in Northern Ghana.
With temperatures averaging around 40 degrees Celsius, many have been struggling to cope.
Xtrememediaonline engaged some Muslim residents in Tamale yesterday, March 11, and they shared their plight on how Ramadan has been difficult as a result of the water shortages and power outages in the region.
Wunnam Suhail is a resident who shared his experience with Xtrememediaonline.
“I swear to God, it is not easy to go the whole day without food and water. In fact, not eating is not even the problem, but going from 5am to 6pm without water under these conditions is very exhausting. Only Allah knows how we survive it,” he said.
He said, although they feel the heat, “We love Ramadan. Despite the heat, we are still fasting. This means we are sacrificing to worship our God.”
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The heat is not the only challenge Muslims in Tamale are facing this Ramadan, as the city is also struggling with a severe water crisis due to the Ghana Water Company Limited’s (GWCL) inability to supply treated water.
Densely populated suburbs including Vitting, Kukuo, Kalariga, Dungu, Kalpohin, SSNIT Flats, and Fuo are among the hardest hit by the crisis, with dams already completely dried up.
Residents have to travel several kilometers to suburbs where water supply is relatively regular or book for the services of water tanker operators, whose prices range between GHS350 and GHS700, days ahead.
Frustrated residents say they are suffering.
“We are suffering,” Munkaila Barida told the correspondent, Mumuni Yunus.
“It has been 2 months since we had water flowing at Kalariga. Like the area we have to talk and talk and talk; sometimes some of the men go to GWCL to plead with them before our taps open,” she explained their ordeal.
Although the GWCL has blamed their inability to pump water across Tamale on worn-out equipment and the lack of expansion works, many residents accuse the water supplier of deliberately locking the taps to allow for their private water tankers to sell water at exorbitant amounts.
These claims were also highlighted by the Northern Regional Minister, Ali Adolf Mburidiba John, when he recently cautioned the water company to adopt a more comprehensive water rationing mechanism to ensure the fair and equitable distribution of water across the Greater Tamale Metropolis.
Barida agrees, claiming that her experience points to the fact that some staff of the GWCL benefit from the crisis.
“Yes, they are deliberately locking the pipes; honestly, they are. Because there was this guy who usually brought our bills, when the tap stopped flowing for months, we would call him. Immediately we call this guy; he will tell us what time or day to start monitoring, and truly, by that day and time, the taps will open. He would even tell us what time it will shut again.” She explained.
She wondered why the GWCL is able to supply some parts of the city with water almost on a daily basis and yet is unable to efficiently ration water to ensure all other parts are served equitably.
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Barida is not the only resident struggling to get water; many other residents, including Fati, a resident of Fuo, say they face the same.
“Our taps have not flown since January. What happens is, once every two weeks, deep in the night, you start seeing droplets from your tap, but you can’t even fill your veronica bucket before it locks by the next morning. Yet, at the end of the month, they will bring you a bill. It’s so frustrating.” Fati said.
For many other parts already hit hard by the water crisis, recent intermittent power outages have compounded their woes.
Abdul Gafaru, a resident, told Xtrememediaonline that his power goes off several times “almost every night,” sometimes going on for several hours before stabilizing, which is concerning in this period of Ramadan.
“In Ramadan, when we store a lot of food in our fridges for use during the dawn, power outages are so costly. We don’t just risk our equipment being damaged; we also risk our food. We lose our drinks, fruits, etc. That is expensive for us,” he said.
Abass, a resident of Kukuo, a suburb of Tamale, called for immediate government intervention to address the situation, noting how uncomfortable the situation has made Ramadan this year.
He said, “Imagine us fasting in this heat, without adequate water supply to keep us hydrated enough nor electricity supply to power our fans to at least cool us down before the next day. Government must intervene.”
Until deliberate policies such as planting more trees across the city, securing funding for the Tamale Water Expansion Project, and allocating funding to NEDCo to stabilize power supply in the metropolis, the situation will persist for a couple of years.