"Damsmen doing poor work should not be paid" – Bawumia

Company News of Friday, May 31, 2019

Source: asempanews.com

2019-05-31

Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has asked development authorities not to pay contractors who work on government dam projects from one village to another in the government if they do not meet the specified standards.

The Vice-President's comment follows reports of poor quality work on some of the dams.

"The project of a village, a dam will provide some respite to farmers during the dry season. We have heard that some of the dams were poorly constructed. We are trying to build over 500 of these dams and I will like to lead the development authorities … You can not pay the contractors if they have worked badly. You should fire them and bring in new entrepreneurs. It's as simple as that.

He added that this initiative was part of the government's program to ensure sustainable agriculture, especially to provide large-scale irrigation opportunities.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia said this during the conference delivered at the Ghana Northern Development Conference in 2019 on "Accelerating Sustainable Development in Northern Ghana in the Context of Ghana Beyond". help".

"You are linked to some of these problems. For example, I was in the Upper East last week and I was informed that of the 50 dams, two were not well designed, so they had to be redone. You will certainly see some of these difficulties, but the development authorities must act quickly to ensure that the designs are followed and, if they are not, the contractors are not paid. They should cancel [the contracts] and new entrepreneurs have been hired to do this work for the benefit of all. "

Challenges related to the initiative of a village, a dam

It is feared that the implementation of the policy has so far been mediocre.

For example, 140 promised dams have been allocated to the Upper East East region, but only 40 have been built so far in the 15 municipalities and districts of the region.

Of the 40 people, some residents complained that the dams had been drained or properly constructed.

Nana Addo agrees to look into dam projects of poor quality

President Nana Akufo-Addo also pledged to investigate allegations of poor work in dam construction as part of the One Village One Dam government project in northern Ghana.

According to the president, media reports about the poor quality of work on dams will not be overlooked.

At a meeting with Navrongo's traditional council, Nana Akufo-Addo said that the case would be the subject of an investigation.

"All kinds of criticisms are made about other aspects of our policy. Apparently, some people there are not satisfied with the roadblocks that were built. "

"I will look into these issues and, when the time comes, I will have the opportunity to talk about these criticisms," said the president.