One Village One Dam
31-10-2019Minister for Special Development Initiatives and Member of Parliament for Awutu-Senya-East Hon. Mavis Hawa Koomson today shocked Parliament when she told the House that she did not inherit a single dam in any of the five Northern Regions when she was made the sector Minister.
Hon. Hawa Koomson instead, told the House that, in 2018, the Ministry in collaboration with the Ghana Irrigation Authority, Northern Development Authority and the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the regions identified five hundred and sixty (560) sites for the construction of Small Earth Dams, three hundred (300) of which are currently under construction and are at various levels of completion.
The Awutu-Senya East MP made this disclosure in response to a question by Hon. Albert Akuka Alalzuuga, MP for Garu constituency who asked to know the cost per dam under the Infrastructure for Poverty Reduction Programme (IFEP) in the three Northern Regions in 2017 and 2018.
The Honourable Minister informed that House that the Government under the One Village One Dam Initiative is constructing a total of ten Small Earth Dams in each constituency in the Northern Regions at an average cost of GHS 250,000.00 each to provide an all year round irrigation of crops for those communities.
Hon. Hawa Koomsom said that the size of the dams are not the same since each has a unique design and topography hence the differences in costs of construction. She said that she has personally visited the sites to observe and acquaint herself of the progress of work executed so far and that the dams can, not only sustain an all-year irrigation of crops, but also be used for the grazing of both cattle and other livestock.
The Energy Minister who was also in the House to answer a question on the status of the Saltpond Off-Shore Rig De-commissioning Project told the House that the Ministry has accepted the request of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to embark on a two-phased programme to decommission the Saltpond Field.
Hon. Peter Amewu said Phase I of the project comprises of the preparation of a decommissioning plan while Phase II consist of the actual decommissioning operation and informed the House that the consulting service agreement for Phase I was awarded through a competitive tendering to a consulting consortium with PAP Energy Limited-Oxand-Dietsmann-Zeal in March 2018.
He told the House that that publications will be carried in the dailies to invite qualified applicants to submit tenders for the decommissioning after review and approval of the Decommissioning Plan submitted to the Ministry in July 2019.
The Minister explained further that Phase II which consists of waste management and remediation, well plug abandoning with removal of conductor pipes and Mr Louie removal and dismantling is however outstanding and that the Ministry will discuss GNPC’s corporate social responsibility to the community during implementation of Phase II of the project.
In another development, the Energy Minister in response to a question posed by Hon Ekow Hayford (MP-Mfantseman) who wanted to know when Hasowodze, a farming community in his constituency will be connected to the national grid said the community does not form part of any of the earmarked or on-going projects currently being executed by the Energy Ministry but that the town has been noted and will be considered in subsequent electrification projects.
Similarly John Peter Amewu in response to a question asked on behalf of Hon. Angela Amewu Tay (Afadzato South) answered that Kpeve Old Town, Kpeve Tornu and Goviefe Todzi all in the Afadzato South constituency of the Volta Region do not form part of any of the earmarked or on-going projects currently been executed by the Ministry.
The Energy Minister however also told the House that Nasolyiri and Sanyiri communities in the Savannah Region form part of the ongoing Self Help Electrification Programme (SHEP) and the contractor Dass-B Electrical Services has already erected high and low tension poles for onward connection to the national grid. Hon. He gave this response when Hon. Andrew Dari Chiwitey, MP for Sawla/Tuna/Kalba asked to know the status of the electrification projects in Nasolyiri, Sanyeri, Jelinkow, Kponyiri, Seutiepuor and Goyiri communities.
The Minister in conclusion however gave assurance to the House that the four other communities namely Jelinkow, Kponyiri, Seutiepour and Goyiri like their counterparts Hasowodze in the Nfantseman constituency and Kpeve Old Town, Kpeve Tornu and Goviefe Todzi, all in the Afadzato South constituency would be considered in subsequent electrification projects.
