The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, has expressed shock at the payment of $12 million to a contractor when no work has been done on the Pwalugu Dam in the Upper East Region.
President Akufo-Addo, cut the sod for the dam’s construction in November 2019, with the project aimed at enabling year-round farming. The dam was expected to be completed in 50 months.
President of the Association, Charles Nyaaba, said members of the Association, are surprised by the development.
“All that time, we never knew that so much money had already been paid for the construction. $11.9 million—that is a huge amount of money. So when that report came out, in fact, I couldn’t sleep. As we speak, the majority of our members cannot sleep.”
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bongo, Edward Bawa, also wants persons culpable in the deal prosecuted for misappropriation of funds.
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“We are asking exactly what they used the $12 million for. These are the answers that we are not getting, and that is part of the reason why we decided to go to the site and see what was happening and we got there and realized that nothing had been done, so it behoves the government to find a way of ensuring that these monies are retrieved.
“And if $12 million, you can’t find anything there, it tells you that there is a crime to be investigated. And whoever is involved in this must be made to face the full rigours of the law.”
Edward Bawa, is demanding the prosecution of persons responsible for the stalled Pwalugu Multipurpose Irrigation Dam project. The project, commissioned in 2019, was expected to be completed within 50 months. However, the Minority Caucus in Parliament expressed dissatisfaction with the progress of work at the site during a recent visit.
In an interview with Citi News, Edward Bawa, emphasized that the NDC MPs will diligently pursue the completion of the dam, seeking accountability for the delays.
“We are asking exactly what they used the $12 million for. These are the answers that we are not getting, and that is part of the reason why we decided to go to the site and see what was happening, we got there and realized that nothing had been done, so it behoves the government to find a way of ensuring that these monies are retrieved and whoever is involved is prosecuted.
“And if $12 million, you can’t find anything there, it tells you that there is a crime to be investigated. And whoever is involved in this must be made to face the full rigours of the law.”
The Minority in Parliament has raised serious concerns about the progress of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam project in the Upper East Region. They allege a lack of development on the site despite $12 million being spent on the project.
Addressing journalists at the site, MP for Yapei-Kusawgu John Jinapor, said everyone involved in the deal, which has already cost the state $12 million, will be investigated and prosecuted.
“We will activate all the parliamentary processes to retrieve that amount of money, almost 200 million cedis that has been dashed to this contractor. Somebody must be held accountable. $12 million can do a lot in this country.
“So we’ll use every legitimate means, every legal means to retrieve the money and punish those who have caused this financial crime and financial loss to the state,” he said.
His comments come after the Minority leadership on the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament visited the site of the much-talked-about $1 billion Pwalugu Multipurpose Irrigation Dam, which was supposed to be completed this year after being commissioned in 2019.
The Committee leadership, led by the ranking member, Hon John Jinapor, visited the chief of the village, Kurugu, in the Northeast region and further proceeded to the project site only to be met with an empty land with sold-out chippings and stones that were initially brought in by the contractor.
The supposed communities that were mentioned to have been relocated by the funds released were still at post and the chiefs said no one had approached them about any relocation.
The components of the project were to include the construction of a Roller Compacted Concrete dam with an elevation of 168 meters above sea level near the Pwalugu Bridge on the White Volta River and with a reservoir covering an area of 262 square kilometers.
A powerhouse consisting of two Kaplan turbines with 60 megawatts of installed capacity and a solar power plant of 50 megawatts.
An irrigation scheme consisting of a 20-meter high water weir and canal network for about 25,000 hectares of land would be installed.
Among the delegation were Hon Edward Bawa, MP for Bongo, Deputy National Communication Officer of the NDC, Malik Basintale, Regional Communication Officer of the Upper East, Jonathan Abdullah, and others.
The government has hinted at plans to engage the World Bank for financial assistance for the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam project. In 2019, the government cut the sod for the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam project through a $993 million Synohydro loan to provide electricity, and irrigation for year-round farming and serve as flood control. However, the project has been abandoned due to a lack of funds.
Speaking at the launch of the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) project in Bolgatanga, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, said the project was bedeviled with financial constraints and thus the urgent need to seek support from the World Bank.
“One of the major projects that the government has a major intention to see happen in the Northern regions of Ghana because it will really impact climate resilience, food production, flood control, and so on is the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam project. The Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam project is a project that I believe the World Bank should really take a keen interest in and development partners as well.”
“Government is trying to make a start, we are facing some of the financial challenges as many other countries are at the moment, but we want to make sure that this project sees the light of day and is completed. So, I want to put it on the table that we will be discussing this project further with you [World Bank] so that we can see to its construction.”
Paramount Chief of Nangodi, Naab Kasom Yelazoya, commended the government for the initiative to engage the World Bank to facilitate the construction of the dam and pleaded with the World Bank to urgently respond to their plight.
“I would plead to the World Bank to respond to our call immediately to start the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam. We thought the construction of the dam would have come much earlier and so already we have lost so much time, so we are pleading that the World Bank comes to our aid.”
