The Ministry for Special Development Initiatives says the assertion by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that dams built under the government’s ‘One Village One Dam’ project are not fit for purpose is to “score cheap political points.”
The Ministry’s Communication Director, Kabore Awudu Moro, said the dams cited by the NDC had already been declared uncompleted by the government itself.
NDC gets it wrong
The Opposition National Democratic Congress at its 8th edition of the party’s “Moment Of Truth” series held on Wednesday toured three of the dam sites in Adibo and Nakpache in the Yendi constituency and at Zakpalsi in the Mion constituency.
The National Communication Officer for the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi who led the team said the dams in their current state would not be able to serve their intended objectives.
But Kabori Awudu Moro said the NDC “got it wrong” with their assessment of the dams they toured.
“We disagree with their conclusion that the dams are not fit for purpose and that it has not been properly constructed….It is kind of a surprise to us that the NDC will rather choose to go and do the press conference at the dam site that we have already given the indication that we have not completed. I think they got it very wrong and we believe that their action is clearly aimed at scoring some cheap political points,” he said.
NDC has consistently demanded a complete overhaul of the One Village One Dam projects, urging the government to realign its funding to produce standard dams.
There are concerns that the implementation of the policy has been subpar.
Minority claims
In 2019, the Member of Parliament for the Garu Constituency in the Upper East Region, Albert Akuka Alalzuuga said most construction sites under the government’s One Village One Dam initiative have become death traps.
However, in an interview with the media, the legislator said the digging of deep wells in the middle of the dams without warning signs was claiming the lives of humans and animals in some areas.
“They scoop a large area and dig something like a well inside. That water will become a death trap because most people are not aware that this is what the contractors have done there. When people come and see small water there, they will not know that it is deep and before you realise animals and human beings will be falling into it,” he claimed.
