“Coke follows thirst everywhere” as Coca Cola constructs $65,000 water treatment centre at Pakro
“Coke follows thirst everywhere” is the 1952 slogan for the Coca Cola Bottling Company which inspires the firm to give back to society good access to potable drinking water.
It is in this inspiration from the slogan that the Coca Cola Africa Foundation, a unit of Coca Cola in collaboration with the Water Health International (WHI) has constructed and commissioned a $65,000 water treatment and distribution centre facility for the people of Pakro, a suburb of Nsawam in the Eastern Region on February 11, 2011.
The treatment facility which sources its water from the Densu River is capable of producing 65,000 litres of safe drinking water per day to the Pakro community and its environs.
Commissioning the facility, the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing Mr Alban S.K. Bagbin said government would create an enabling environment for the private sector in order to help the country to achieve the Millennium Development Goals on water by 2015.
He however urged the management of WHI, operators of the facility to work in partnership with the Water and Sanitation Committee, to run the system in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Community Water and Sanitation Agency.
According to the Operations Manager of the facility, Mr Kojo Osei, the water produced meets the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards for potable water.
Mr Osei said even though the facility produces 65,000 litres of water per day, the Pakro community which is over 3,000 in population consumes only 15,000 litres of water.
Chairman of the Coca Cola Foundation, Mr William Egbe said with the success of this project, the foundation intends to expand it to other parts of the country.
“The Foundation has plans to construct five water treatment centres in the Greater Accra and Volta Regions by the end of 2015”, Mr Egbe said.
Prior to the commissioning of the water centre, the foundation inspected a new three ICT classroom block funded by the Foundation and the Discovery Channel Education Group (DCEG) at Presec Staff School in Accra as part of a $600,000 fund to provide teaching aids and education curriculum content to 20 schools in the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions.
By Ekow Quandzie