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General News of Sunday, July 7th, 2019
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2019-07-07
play the videoSamuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu
A former Deputy Minister of Information has called on the government to acknowledge the failure of the implementation of its flagship program, One-Village One-Dam.
According to Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, evidence of what has been done so far suggests that rather than a dam in every village in northern Ghana, the government has provided ponds that are not available. to some communities.
"These are not dams, they are ponds or underground ponds," he said in Newsfile of Joy News, a news and current affairs program released on Saturday. .
Ablakwa told the host, Samson Anyenini, that the failure to fulfill this campaign promise had had a significant impact on the many poor communities in northern Ghana whose livelihoods depend on the availability of water for agriculture.
The "ponds", which the former deputy minister of education believed were mostly drained, not only exasperated community members where they were, but became a deadly trap for the local people. families, especially children.
"I have to congratulate Joy FM on the documentary you released. Among the chiefs you interviewed, a chief said that when he was cycling near the dams, he did not want to look in that direction, as this insulted him. They have even become deadly traps. It was not so long ago that a schoolboy was attracted to it, "Ablakwa told Newsfile.
Context
Radio A1, a radio station in Bolgatanga, in the regional capital of Upper East East, produced a documentary focusing on the government's One Village, One Dam project.
The government wants to build a dam in every village in Ghana's five northern regions during its four-year term. There are 15 districts in the Upper East region, each with more than one hundred and fifty villages on average. This means that the government should build at least two thousand two hundred and fifty dams by December 2020.
Eighteen months have already pbaded and, according to the documentary, forty dams are under construction and ten at different stages of construction in a district like Bongo.
Villagers where some of these 10 dams have already been built said the contractor used a week to finish them. Interviewees say the dam is so badly built that more than six people drowned while trying to get water from them. One chief said that the dams could only be designed for sakora football fields.
There are conflicting figures on the total cost of these dams for the country and the Ministry of Agriculture, under the authority of the Ghanaian Authority in charge of Irrigation – the D & D Department. State that builds dams for years – 2.5 million, the Ministry of Special Initiatives – a brand new Ministry set up to hold the great campaign promises of this government, quotes 250 000 people.
No matter how much you work with, you can not escape the fact that it's billions if we go to a dam in every village. The regional minister and a district chief interviewed could not say how the contractors for the project had been selected.
Was the "single dam on a village" just for political reasons?
As a result, Okudzeto Ablakwa, also MP for North Tongu, blamed the government for the reasons.
Calling on the project to provide a shopping list to "A village, a dam," he said the government had no idea how to carry it out and that it was simply attempts to enrich its electoral fortune.
The government, he said, after winning power through these promises, is now trying to "steal" to avoid these promises.
"We have to stop building a big shopping list and try to win votes. We are going to have power. When we have the power, we will see how we make our way, "he warned the politicians.
He added that the promise of One-Village One-Dam did not have an implementation plan and that the government did not commit to doing so, apart from its electoral value.
"I remember asking," When you talk about a dam in a village, did you even identify the number of villages? What is the total number of villages you have in mind? What is conceptualization? "" Mr. Ablakwa continued to ask one question after another.
But he added that the relentless media coverage given to the project and complaints from chiefs and members of the community is clearly evidence of a "Ghanaian awakening" that can no longer be taken for granted.
"Voters have become discerning now. After 26 years of this 4th republic, we can not maintain this type of policy. We must move in an empirical and scientific way to carry out our policy, "said Ablakwa.
To move forward, he urged the government to change the promise of One – Village One – Dam to One – Village – One – Pond if the government could afford it.
He also called on politicians to be inspired by development and to make sustainable and achievable campaign promises in its implementation.
"Elsewhere, they have even strayed from the promise. Every promise you make must have a cost. Show people how the funds will be generated, "he said.
According to him, wild claims for elections could undermine the credibility of politicians and weaken voter confidence in them.
"This case will also be a blow to the credibility of politicians, campaign promises and what we say for the votes," he told Newsfile host Samson Anynini.
We must be optimistic – Martin Kpebu
Martin Kpebu, a private lawyer, shared the panel with Ablakwa and said that Ghanaians should welcome the project despite its challenges.
According to him, any effort to provide some form of badistant to Ghanaians in the campaign must be supported.
He says that focusing only on implementation issues is not the best way to go.
Assuming that what the government provides is simply a pond; it can still serve a useful purpose that the absence of it, he said on Newsfile.
"With each development, you can have problems here and there. Everybody makes mistakes; we should ignore mistakes and move on. It is to prefer the substance to the form. "
Government must punish entrepreneurs in error – Judge Yankson
Medical Doctor, who is also Secretary-General of the Ghana Medical Association, Dr. Justice Yankson concurred with Mr. Kpebu's arguments.
He added, however, that contractors who have failed to carry out dam construction work should be asked to do the work or punished if they fail.
"We must not let this project fail," he warned.
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