Accra – Two farming communities in the Akuapem North Municipality in the Eastern Region have been provided with a secure supply of water after boreholes were commissioned and handed over today by Voltic (GH) Limited.
At Otariso, the community of about 4,000 people were using a local stream as their water supply, despite it not being safe for drinking. In Kebu, with an estimated population of 3,000, the community also depended on a stream for water, leading to the risk of water-borne diseases.
With the new boreholes installed by Voltic, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, each community now has a safe and regular supply of water, with a daily capacity of 20,000 litres.
“Water is a priority for Voltic because it is vital to our business and critical to public health, food security, biodiversity and climate resilience. We have a responsibility to address water stress, protect local water resources and help build community climate resilience,” said Managing Director of Voltic, Flora Jika.
“Our 2030 water strategy is focused on accelerating the actions needed to increase water security where we operate, source ingredients and touch people’s lives.
“Voltic is focused on good water stewardship, starting within our operations, and extending to the communities where we work.
“We invest in initiatives to reduce the amount of water used in making beverages, and to treat and reuse water where possible. We also work to preserve nature and biodiversity, and promote advanced water management practices,” said Jika.
“A key aspect of our strategy is replenishing the water used in our products. This means that, for the amount of water used in finished beverages, our aspiration is that the same amount is returned to nature and communities.
“We are also improving community access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene while supporting people – especially women and girls – to prepare and rapidly recover from water-related crises.
“In priority watersheds, we are establishing and implementing watershed stewardship plans to address shared challenges, such as water quantity, quality, ecosystems, infrastructure and governance.
“No entity can solve the water challenges alone. We believe in collective action and partnership to tackle this issue together,” said Jika.
“It is important that all relevant stakeholders have a voice, an investment and a shared understanding of the outcomes to ensure we make the lack of access to safe water an issue of the past.”
*Update* On December 2, 2024, The Coca-Cola Company announced updated voluntary environmental goals. Read more here: The Coca-Cola Company Evolves Voluntary Environmental Goals
