9 out of 10 dams under the government’s flagship policy 1 Village 1 Dam (1V1D) earmarked for the Kassena-Nankana West District, according to the District Chief executive, Gerard Ataogye are in good shape and are in use by farmers for all-year farming.
Mr. Ataogye mentioned communities such as “Kayoro, Kalvio/Gugoro, Kajelo, Kpanerigu, Anaregu, Saka, Kazuku, and Kaase that have dams constructed and are in good use by farmers.
Aside from the dam constructed in the Kulia community that has some defects, the DCE stated that farmers in the district are utilizing the remaining 9 dams for dry season farming.
“They are useful. They are serving a purpose except one that has not been well constructed and that is Kulia.”
It will be recalled that A1 Radio’s Joshua Asaah carried out a report in 2019 that exposed the shoddy nature of the dams constructed in the Upper East Region.
Then minister for the Special Development Initiative, Mavis Hawa Koomson speaking to pressmen stated emphatically that the Ghc250, 000 meant for each dam was woefully inadequate to construct meaningful dams for all-year-round farming.
“Look at the cost, GH¢250,000. if you are constructing a meaningful dam you don’t need anything less than 3 million dollars. So, if I’m constructing a GH$ 250,000 dam then what kind of dam are you expecting from me? That is the kind of dam we promised the people,
we didn’t say we are constructing the 3 million or 6 million type of dam for them”.
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) in its findings stated that the dams constructed in the Upper East Region are not fit for purpose.
But the DCE for Kassena-Nankana West disagrees. According to Gerard Ataogye, the dams constructed in the Kassena-Nankana West District are in good shape for use contrary to the above claims.
Mr. Ataogye believes those who are criticizing the 1Village 1Dam policy may be doing so to achieve political gains. The DCE was speaking on A1 Radio.
“In this part of our country, during the rainy season, the evaporation rate is very high and so when it comes to March the dams are dry and they are complaining. Even the big dams equally dry out. So it is about how we use the water and sometimes we don’t use the water judiciously. Sometimes someone will open it … as if you want to create another dam in your garden. So the dams are very useful. I know of somebody who of course uses a garden and bought a motorbike. They are useful, let’s put the politics aside.“
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Bolgatanga|Ghana
