The Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has dismissed claims by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that its flagship ‘One-Village, One-Dam’ (1V1D) programme is deceptive.
In a statement last Sunday, the NDC described as substandard some dams being constructed in some selected villages in the northern part of Ghana in fulfillment of the government’s 1V1D promise. The NDC also called to question the specifications of the dams, describing them as “dugouts” and not “dams”.
But in a quick response, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said the comments of the NDC is characteristic of a usual propaganda and should be taken with a pinch of salt.
He said government is delivering exactly what it promised and what the people asked for, emphasizing: “It must be noted that the beneficiary communities in requesting for the dams did not request an Akosombo-like type of dam”.
“The model and specification of dams requested for under this programme are the exact type known to the people in the beneficiary communities,” he reiterated.
Though he conceded there were challenges with a few of the dams, the minister maintained the project is on course and will better serve the needs of the people whom he said the NDC could not do anything about their problems.
He further disputed the numbers also peddled by the opposition as the number of dams under construction.
“Seventy of the dams in the Upper East Region will be available for use before the peak of the rainy season. The remaining dams are expected to be completed after the rainy season. Therefore, the claim that only 40 dams have so far been constructed is another one of the usual falsehoods the NDC often attempts to feed the Ghanaian public with,” he clarified.
What we know already
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in a meeting with the traditional council of Navrongo at the Jubilee House last month assured the people he will have complaints about shoddy works on the dams investigated.
“There are all kinds of criticisms being made about some of our policies. Apparently, some people are not satisfied with the dams that are being built. We are looking into it to find out the truth of it,” the President assured.
Likewise, the Vice President has also said he has directed all payments to contractors on the project to be stopped, pending investigations.
“We heard some of the dams have been done shoddily. We are trying to construct over 500 of these dams and I will like to direct the development authorities…You cannot pay the contractors if they have done a shoddy job. You should fire them and bring in new contractors. It is just that simple,” he stated, while delivering a keynote address at the 2019 Northern Ghana Development Conference May 31.
Could it be the case that the said investigations the president and his vice spoke about have been completed and the findings being that the project conforms to the framework as communicated by the information minister?
By PD Wedam|3news.com | Ghana