Contractor abandons irrigation project at Nante

Nante (B/A), Sept 8, GNA - Lack of supervision by Kintampo District Assembly has led to the abandonment of a 465-million-cedi irrigation project at Nante in the district by the contractor, Hersey Investment Limited.

Mr Samuel Effah, former chairman of the unit committee and Mr William Kwame Ofosu, member of the unit committee in the town, said this when they conducted newsmen round the abandoned project site. They said efforts to get the district assembly to terminate the contract have proved futile.

Funded under the Village Infrastructure Project (VIP), the project was awarded to the contractor three years ago and was to be completed within eight months.

The project, on completion, will irrigate 50 hectares of land to enable farmers to cultivate vegetables, particularly tomatoes, all year round.

The two community leaders said the delay in the completion of the project has created an unhealthy tension between the assembly and the community.

Mr Effah and Mr Ofosu said work so far done was not up to 30 percent of the project and castigated the contractor for shoddy work on two pumping centres he has constructed.

Nana Asamoah Baffour, chief of Nante, said the irrigation facility would offer employment to the youth and appealed to the VIP and the Assembly to as a matter of urgency award the contract to another contractor.

He urged Assemblies to involve communities in the award of contracts.