BY Daniel Bampoe
A political firestorm has unfolded in Parliament after Yusif Sulemana, the NDC MP for Bole and Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, made a startling claim that residents of Kyebi in the Eastern Region once drank water from the same source as pigs.
His remarks, made during a heated debate on illegal mining (galamsey), have drawn immediate condemnation, forced a Parliamentary intervention, and triggered a detailed public rebuttal from Kyebi youth and traditional advocates who insist the claim is historically false.
The Deputy Minister made the controversial statement while responding to concerns about the worsening destruction of the water bodies due to galamsey.
In defending what he described as achievements under President John Mahama in his first term, Yusif Sulemana asserted that Mahama had brought potable water to Kyebi at a time when the community was surviving on water shared with pigs.
The statement generated shock across the chamber, with MPs demanding clarity on the source of his information.
Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, quickly rose to challenge the assertion, describing it as “a reckless misrepresentation of facts.”
According to him, such a claim not only insults the people of Kyebi but also undermines the dignity of the Eastern Region and Parliament itself.
Frank Annoh-Dompreh insisted that if the Deputy Minister could not produce evidence, he must retract the comment and apologize.
The Speaker agreed, ordering that the offensive portion of the statement be deleted from the official Parliamentary record.
During the debate, Frank Annoh-Dompreh also shifted discussion back to the critical issue of illegal mining, calling for weekly briefings to Parliament on the national effort to curb galamsey.
He argued that the destruction of major water bodies, farmlands, and forest reserves had reached alarming levels and demanded systematic reporting to ensure transparency and sustained pressure on state institutions responsible for combating the menace.
While Parliament dealt with the fallout internally, the remarks triggered swift reactions across Kyebi.
The Youth groups and local stakeholders accused the Deputy Minister of deliberately twisting historical facts to project the John Mahama administration in good light.
They argued that no evidence—official or anecdotal—supports the idea that Kyebi residents ever relied on polluted water sources shared with animals.
They pointed to a well-documented history of water infrastructure in the area. Kyebi’s first major water treatment facility was constructed under the Busia government in 1971.
That facility was later expanded in 2014 by the Mahama administration to improve capacity, not to replace contaminated water sources, as claimed by Sulemana.
According to the youth, the Deputy Minister’s claim portrays Kyebi in an undignified manner and unfairly maligns the Okyenhene and the people of Akyem Abuakwa.
To further highlight inaccuracies in Sulemana’s claim, the youth referenced a timeline of water projects implemented before Mahama’s administration.
In 2008, President John Agyekum Kufuor initiated the Koforidua Water Supply System under a mixed credit facility, benefiting several communities within Akyem Abuakwa, including Tafo, Kukurantumi, Suhyen, and Anyinasin.
In 2011, President Atta Mills expanded the project through a credit facility from Unicredit of Austria to cover Kyebi, Apedwa, and adjacent towns.
They emphasized that Mahama did not introduce a new water project in Parliament specifically for Kyebi, contrary to the narrative presented by the Deputy Minister.
Community groups in Kyebi argued that Sulemana’s remarks form part of a worrying trend in Ghanaian politics where misinformation is used as a weapon to attack political opponents.
They insisted that national leaders must exercise caution, especially when speaking on matters that touch on the identity and dignity of entire communities.
