The Ranking Member of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, John Abdulai Jinapor, has disclosed that members of the minority in parliament will exhaust all parliamentary processes to retrieve monies paid to the contractor of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam for work that remains unstarted.
This revelation follows reports that the Bank of Ghana, under government instruction, paid $12 million to MS Power China International Group Limited, the contractor for the project, despite no visible progress on the ground.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Jinapor emphasized the minority’s determination to ensure accountability and justice.
“We will activate all the parliamentary processes to retrieve that amount of money that has been dashed to the contractor. Somebody must be held liable, somebody must be held accountable. 200 million cedis is not small money, $12 million can do a lot in this country. So, we will use every legitimate means to retrieve the money and punish those who have caused this financial crime and financial loss to the state,” Jinapor asserted.
His comments came during a visit by the minority side of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy to the proposed project site in Kurugu, in the North East region.
With no tangible work done, the contractor has since parked out of the site. Only a trip of stone chippings and a few blocks are left at the site. Edward Bawa, Member of Parliament for the Bongo constituency and committee member, expressed particular disappointment in Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
“I believe the people of the North East were excited because this was going to create a lot of jobs for them, and by virtue of the fact that the promise was made by their own son. They believed that if all politicians were not even truthful, their son would not deceive them. But unfortunately, Dr. Bawumia has become the worst disappointment to his own people,” Mr. Bawa stated.
Mr. Bawa further criticized the current administration’s handling of the project and assured that former President John Mahama would prioritize its completion if re-elected in the upcoming December polls.
Chief of Kurugu, Kurnaba Tia Shaibu, expressed regrets, saying it was expected that the project, when implemented, would improve the lives of people in the area. He entreated political parties to desist from making promises they cannot implement.
The sod-cutting for the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam was done on November 29, 2019, by President Akufo-Addo and graced by the Paramount Chiefs of Talensi and the Mamprugu traditional area.
It was expected that the project would be completed in 50 months to resolve the perennial flooding in some parts of northern Ghana as a result of the spillage of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso. It would serve as a source of water for all-year-round farming and electricity generation. However, the construction of the dam is in limbo after almost 5 years since the sod was cut.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Joshua Asaah|Kurugu|Ghana
