Dams constructed in the 5 regions of the North under government’s much-touted ‘One Village, One Dam’ initiative are not fit for purpose, a research by the Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NOPRA) has found.
In 2018, a year after assuming office, the Akufo-Addo’s government started what it said would significantly increase agricultural productivity and create jobs to eradicate poverty in the 5 Northern regions by providing water supply for an all-year-round farming.
It was a campaign promise in the run up to the 2016 Elections by the presidential candidate of the then main opposition New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who together with his running mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia were combing every corner of the country, pleading to be tried.
Then, it became a slogan – 1V1D and the talk of town.
His main rival, the then president, John Dramani Mahama rubbished it, but Mr. Akufo-Addo and his deputy insisted it was possible.
The promise resonated well with many particularly farmers in the these regions who are usually forced to hang their farming tools and idle during the dry season as the areas record only one rainy season a year.
And so, it was welcoming news to them when president Akufo-Addo, a year after taking the oath of office, performed the ceremonial ritual at Ayopia in the Bongo District to kick-start the initiative.
But the implementation of the policy soon became a cause for concern for the beneficiary communities. They sounded the alarm about the quality of dams constructed.
Government officials, however, dismissed these concerns, labelling them as propaganda against its policies.
But before long, the projects meant to improve the living conditions of the people turned to death traps. A number of people mostly young lost their lives after drowning in some of the dams.
Members of beneficiary communities blamed these accidents on the poor constructions of the projects.
At this point, it was no longer possible for a defence. So, government gave a word to reconstruct the dams.
However, a research conducted by NOPRA reveals that the dams are still in same state if not worst.
Speaking in an interview on State of Our Nation, Executive Director of NOPRA, Bismarck Adongo said his outfit found that most of the dams are dried up and do not serve the purpose for which millions of Ghana’s oil funds were pumped into constructing them.
“None of the dams is useful to the communities per the policy objectives and the scoring of the community members,” he stated.
Also, contrary to the GH₵250,000 quoted by government as the cost of each project, NOPRA’s findings show that each of the 285 dams constructed so far cost GH₵670,350, bringing the total expenditure to GH₵201,113,875.
This, Mr. Adongo asserted, is a loss to the state.
“If state resources were meant to achieve something and we did not achieve it, I think this is what they call financial loss to the state”.
