The Paramount Chief of the Talensi Tradition Area, Tongraan Kugbilsong Nanlebgtang, has admonished the Minority in Parliament to tread cautiously in their opposition to the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam project in order not to stall the commencement of the facility.
The $993 million Pwalugu multipurpose dam project comprises of a 60MW hydro-electricity, 50MW solar power and an irrigation facility to enable an all year round farming in the beneficiary communities.
It is also expected to serve as a flood control mechanism to avert the loss of lives and destruction of property associated with perennial flooding in the area.
The Minority had raised questions about the cost of the project alleging that the contract sum of the project is bloated.
But speaking at the celebration of ‘Tengmaalug Laong’ by the people of the Talensi traditional area, Tongraan Kugbilsong Nanlebgtang appealed to the Minority to consider the life-saving effects of the project for the community instead of politicizing it.
“I wish to thank the government for making the construction of the Pwalugu Multi-purpose dam a reality. In recent times, we heard of some Members of Parliament expressing concerns about the project. I am appealing to them to tread cautiously so as not to cause any staling of the project for the second time since it stands to benefit farmers in both the Upper East and North East Regions as well as generate electricity into the national grid for the benefit of the entire nation,” he said.
“The dam has three components; hydroelectricity, solar and irrigation. We must all therefore keep in mind our pronouncements about the cost of the project. We all know that no two dams of equal output situated at different places will cost the same because the topography of the sites plays a major role in the total cost. Our Pwalugu Multi-purpose dam is no more a single purpose dam as it was proposed in time past,” he added.
Tongraan also impressed on the government to expedite action on the construction of the Bolgatanga Airport at Sumbrungu, describing as inappropriate any plan by government to relocate the project site.
“Throughout the country, airports are located at the regional capitals. It is therefore not appropriate for the project to be relocated to a different town in the region when it is possible to iron out the bottlenecks and continue with the project at its original site at Sumbrungu where significant work had already started”.
He also appealed to government to convert the Bolgatanga Polytechnic into a technical university to help absorb the large number of beneficiaries of the Free Senior High School policy in the coming years.
Tongraan further commended government for absorbing the Tongo Community Senior High School at Baare but appealed for the needed infrastructure and equipment for improved teaching and learning.