PRESENTED BY MAJOR ALBERT DON-CHEBE (RTD), CHAIRMAN OF THE NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT FORUM (NDF), IN TAMALE ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2022
Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media;
The Northern Development Forum (NDF), an advocacy group for the integrated development of the five regions of Northern Ghana, have invited you this morning to assist the NDF to throw the searchlight on to the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam Project (PMD), exactly three years i.e. 36 months after sod was cut on 29th November 2019.
The PMD, which has been described by government as “the largest investment ever made by any government in the Northern part of the country” has been described as a multipurpose one because it has been designed to resolve perennial devastating floods caused by spillage from the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso, provide a reliable water source for dry season agriculture, and double as a source of hydro-power coupled with a solar component. This, would undoubtedly, open up immense opportunities for the socio-economic transformation of Northern Ghana in particular and Ghana as a whole.
Dear Media Professionals;
The centrality of PMD to the accelerated development of Northern Ghana in particular, and Ghana in general, is best understood when the benefits of the project are summarized. The project will result in:
- The irrigation of 25,000 hectares of land by gravity (or up to 40,000 ha if pumping is included), which will produce enough rice to reduce our rice importation by 17% and maize importation by 32%, leading to huge savings in scarce foreign exchange and further strengthen the cedi. Other crops like onion, tomatoes, water melon, etc., would also be produced in commercial quantities.
- It would be a major stimulus for industrializing the north and the middle-belt of the country.
- It will be a major source of employment for young and old and could contribute to reversing the north-south migration especially of young girls seeking neck-breaking work in the cities of southern Ghana, who often end up sexually abused.
- The acquisition of additional 60 MW of power to bolster power supply and reduce blackouts in Northern Ghana; consequently, providing stable power to further attract industries and other businesses to Northern Ghana, and also free up power from Akosombo and others for the rest of the country.
- The cessation of the annual flooding which have led to the loss of several lives and livelihoods whenever the Bagre Dam is spilled in Burkina Faso.
- The development of Aquaculture and Fisheries to boost protein consumption and new livelihoods for the youth.
- Provide a potable water source for tens of thousands of people especially in the Upper-East and North-East regions.
The direct and indirect benefits of PMD are actually incalculable. Preliminary estimates of benefits are at best conservative, and given the strategic location of the Project in the very heart of the North, touching all the five regions of Northern Ghana, NDF recognises this project as the missing link in the unpleasant story of underdevelopment in Northern Ghana.
It is in cognizance of this that NDF have lobbied and engaged all governments since 2007 for the construction of this dam. Consequently, NDF have acknowledged 29th November 2019 as the ‘second’ independence day of Northern Ghana, because this was the day our dream started becoming reality. It is therefore very shocking for us to hear that the PMD has been abandoned.
Following contradictory statements from various government appointees, we travelled, last week, to the two major project sites- the Dam site at Kurugu and the irrigation development site at Sariba.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media;
At Kurugu, we were confronted by utter desolation and loud silence. There was only a heap of chippings to indicate that someone had intended to undertake some form of construction. We proceeded to the irrigation development site, off the Wulugu-Kpasenkpe road. There, we found a well-built work camp, with comfortable dormitories, workshops and dining facilities, large enough to accommodate over 300 workers and large piles of concrete blocks. We found only one (1) worker on site, and no equipment or machinery whatsoever. We were informed that the contractor withdrew from the site in May 2022, following the award of a new contract to them to build an interchange in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
To allay our fears regarding the PMD project, the NDF will appreciate it if the Government could respond to the following questions:
- Why has work on the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam been abandoned?
- Why has the contractor been deployed to a new government project site when he has not completed a previous government contract which commenced three (3) years ago?
- Where did the government find money for this new project when it could not find money for the “single largest investment in Northern Ghana” which would change the lives of over four (4) million people in that catchment area?
- Why is it that similar large scale projects in other parts of Ghana have secure and guaranteed funding sources but the PMD has no guaranteed funding source?
- What conclusions are citizens of Northern Ghana to draw in the light of this unequal, unfair and unequitable treatment in the distribution and funding of a critical, life-changing and transformational infrastructural investment in Northern Ghana?
The NDF recalls vividly the speech of the President of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, during the sod-cutting ceremony three years ago. He said, “this is in fulfilment of the pledge the NPP government made to the people; we do not renege on our promises, we keep them”.
The North was promised a completed transformational project in 50 months. Unfortunately, 36 months down the line, there is very little hope regarding the continuation, let alone the completion, of the project. We therefore appeal to the government to redeem the promise made to the people of Northern Ghana by resuming work on the project. The PMD is the future of Northern development that the North has waited over sixty (60) years for; the kind of transformational infrastructure that have accelerated development in other parts of Ghana such as the Akosombo and Kpong Dams in the Eastern Region, Atuabo Gas Project in the Western Region and the Bui Dam in the Bono Region. All these projects were executed in times of great financial difficulties. None was abandoned because of financial stress. Innovative and creative arrangements were designed by governments of the time to ensure the completion of these iconic projects.
Today, it is the turn of this government to demonstrate innovation, enterprise, ingenuity, diligence and focus to guide the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam to completion. As a comparison, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), costing US$5B with a capacity of 6450 MW i.e. 107x the capacity of PMD and double the total power consumed in Ghana today, was built using resources mobilized from Ethiopians at home and abroad and was constructed largely by Ethiopian engineers, in a country which is, most probably, poorer and as debt-ridden as Ghana.
In sum what the NDF is saying is that the North deserves the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam, NOW! We hope that the Government will heed to our call.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media;
Thank you very much for coming; we hope that you will amplify our voice by disseminating this message as widely as possible.