US rehabilitates dams in the North

Siiru (Upper West) --- The United States Defence Department and its European Command have approved 300,000 US dollars for the rehabilitation of dams, which were destroyed by floods in 1999.

Ten dams, most of which are in the northern sector of the country, would be selected for the exercise based on data collected on their level of destruction and their impact on the lives of the people after the floods.

Ms Kathryn Dee Robinson, US ambassador to Ghana, announced this on Tuesday when she commissioned a rehabilitated dam at Siiru in the Wa District.

The dam was rehabilitated by the US Department of Defence and its European Command at a cost of 482 million cedis, which could exchange for 100,000 dollars at the time the contract was signed.

The Siiru said the dam, the largest of 65 that were recommended by The national Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) for urgent repairs, was constructed in 1989 but has always suffered some form of damage during years of heavy rainfall, the worst being 1999.

It will benefit about 20,000 people living in the catchment communities of Siiru, Balawa, Kaku, Daboziri and Pingbanben through irrigation for dry season agricultural activities and domestic use.