'One Village, One Dam' Kick Starts in Bongo

By Samuel Akapule

Bongo — /

One of the government's top priority projects, 'One Village, One Dam' has kick started earnestly in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region.

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area, Peter Ayinbisa Ayamga and the Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, Naba Baba Salifu Leemyarum, performed the ground-breaking ceremony on Friday at Kuyelingu, one of the beneficiary communities in the district where the contractor had started work.

It would be recalled that last two weeks, the DCE introduced the contractor to the Apusariga-Mogre, Kuyelingu, Dua-Yikine, Zorku-Kodorogu, Zorku-Awaa, Ayupua-Soe-Yekine andKabre communities, among others, as some of the project communities.

The district is to benefit from 14 dams but as at now eight have been approved and the construction company, Abooh 1 Company Limited, which is on the sites with its workers and logistics, is expected to use four months to complete the eight dams in the communities.

The DCE stressed that the commencement of the project had proved skeptics wrong that the President would not be able to execute its campaign promise of the One Village One Dam policy.

He told the members of the communities to have faith in the government to deliver on its promises, and noted that just as the government was able to fulfil its campaign pledges of restoring the Nursing and Teacher Trainee allowances, the Free Senior High School programme, among others in 2017, so would it complete the implementation of the remaining promises.

Mr Ayamga disclosed that the Ministry of Special Initiatives was funding the project from the "One Million US Dollars per Constituency" policy being channelled through the Northern Development Authority (NDA).

He said by the end of the government's four-year mandate, about 40 dams would have been constructed across the district.

Mr Ayamga revealed that under the One Million US Dollars per Constituency the District had benefited from six solar-mechanised boreholes and six-flush toilets.

Whilst urging the contractor to employ labourers and other artisans from the communities to earn a living from the project, the DCE charged communities to help guard against theft of the contractor's machines and other logistics.

The paramount chief on his part lauded the government for its special interventions, noting that the Bongo District was the first in the three Northern regions to benefit from the project, and entreated all citizens in the area to bury their political differences and support the social intervention programmes.

He said when the projects were completed not only would it provide ready source of water for dry season farming activities, but would also provide drinking water for animals, for constructional purposes and thereby help improve upon the livelihoods of the community members.

The site engineer for the construction firm, Douglas Twum, said his outfit had the capacity to undertake the job because they had been in similar business for the past eight years.

He gave the assurance that after the construction, his outfit would help ensure that the major repair works of the dams were worked on from six to eight years so as to keep them in good shape.

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