In a powerful demonstration of citizen-driven development, the Mfantseman-Saltpond Development Alliance (MSDA) has taken a bold step to tackle one of Saltpond Municipal Hospital’s most pressing challenges — chronic water shortages that have crippled healthcare delivery for years.
The Alliance, made up of indigenes of Saltpond both home and abroad, has cut the sod for the construction of a solar-powered sustainable water system that will permanently resolve the hospital’s long-standing water crisis. The project forms part of the group’s first-ever Saltpond Homecoming Festival, held under the theme “Rebuilding, Reconnecting, Rising Together.”
For decades, the Saltpond Municipal Hospital — a referral facility serving over 125,000 residents in the Mfantseman Municipality — has battled severe water shortages. The situation often forced the hospital to refer patients elsewhere, while inpatients’ relatives carried water to the wards. Administrators say the facility spent more than GHS 4,000 weekly purchasing water, sometimes with little success due to scarcity.
But the new project promises a turnaround. It will feature underground water drilling, large storage tanks, and a solar-powered pumping and distribution system integrated into the hospital’s existing network.
MSDA President Mr. Ernest Egyir De-Graft described the initiative as a model of grassroots leadership and self-reliance.
“This is what community leadership looks like — citizens coming together to solve their own problems rather than waiting for others to act,” he said. “When people share a vision, contribute resources, and act in faith, transformation becomes inevitable.”
Mr. De-Graft commended members of the Alliance for their financial and logistical support, promising that the Homecoming Festival will become an annual event, with each edition delivering a new community-impact project.
The Administrator of the Saltpond Municipal Hospital, Mr. Paul Amponsah Agyakwa, called the project a “timely intervention,” recalling the hospital’s operational crisis between October 2024 and March 2025.
“We sometimes had to turn patients away or ask them to come with their own water. Even when we had money, water wasn’t available to buy,” he lamented.
He expressed optimism that the water system would restore community confidence in the hospital and enhance patient care.
The Mfantseman Municipal Health Director, Madam Gifty Ankrah, also hailed the initiative as life-saving.
“When cholera broke out here, the lack of water worsened the situation. This project has truly saved us,” she said with emotion.
Beyond providing clean water, the project has become a beacon of community empowerment — showing how local leadership, unity, and innovation can transform public service delivery where government intervention falls short.
As work progresses, residents of Saltpond and the wider Mfantseman area see the project not just as a relief effort but as a symbol of renewal — a reminder that sustainable change begins at home.
