Govt’s GHC250,000 1-V-1-D dams dry up after 1-week harmattan

Some of the dams built by government under the 1 village 1 dam initiative have dried up after just one week of harmattan, MyNewsGH.com has learnt.

Under the One Village One Dam flagship programme, the Ministry of Special Development Initiatives, in collaboration with other government agencies led by Mavis Hawa Koomson identified a total of 560 sites for the construction of Small Earth Dams in the Northern, Upper East and West, North West and Savannah Regions of Ghana.

Mrs Koomson, who is also the MP for Awutu Senya East, said the cost of the Small Earth Dam, was on the average GH¢250,000.00

“This is a deal for villages and communities in the five Northern Regions and will serve them under all circumstances.

She said over the period, the Ministry in collaboration with the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority, the Northern Development Authority and the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the Northern Regions identified the sites, and each constituency in the northern parts of the country had been allocated a total of 10 Small Earth Dams and had built the dams with others at various stages of completion.

However, after only a week of harmattan, most of the dams built by Hawa Koomson have dried up leaving its users in frustration. A picture of one such dams which has gone viral on social media showed the completed Nakpachei dam in the Northern Region dried up into the bare earth.

The ministry in reaction is circulating pictures of dams with water denying those claims. It was, however, revealed that those pictures were taken two years ago when the dams were newly built.



We are satisfied with the work done

The Minister of Special Development Initiative, Mavis Hawa Koomson who is leading the initiative says she is satisfied with the work done on the construction of the dams under the One-Village-One-Dam project in the five regions of the North.

The Ministry said contrary to reports of shoddy work done in the first phase of the project, they are impressed with the work done so far. She said this in July last year.

According to Mavis Hawa Koomson, the implementation of any government programme will be met with some difficulties, however, government is on course to successfully complete the 560 dams promised the people of the Northern part of the country by the end of 2020.

Government is currently constructing 300 dugouts out of 560 across the northern part of the country to ensure all year-round farming at a cost of GHC250,000 per dugout.

In the Upper East Region, 83 out of 150 dugouts are being constructed and are at various stages of completion but have been faced with some challenges.