Minister of State for Agriculture, Nurah Gyeile has denied the claim that the majority of dams constructed under government’s ‘One Village, One Dam’ (1V1D) initiative up north are in a poor state.
A research conducted by the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana had indicated that 90% of dams under the government’s 1V1D initiative are not suitable for irrigation purposes.
The Minister on the Point Blank segment on Eyewitness News however, said it will be unfair to assess the effectiveness of these dams since they are still under construction.
“I am disputing this. We set out to do over 560 dams for people in the rural areas and [out of this number] we have given out contracts for 457. They are at various stages of completion. If a dam is not completed, you can never judge a dam. You cannot say a dam that is not completed and contains little water cannot last. We were judged based on a wrong assumption,” he said.
88 dams completed
88 dams have so far been completed while over 400 dams are currently at various stages of completion since the initiative was rolled out, according to the Minister.
“Thirty of the dams are at 50 percent completion. 69 are between 50 and 89 percent completion stage and 339 are between 90 percent and 100 percent complete. So the 88 are part of the 339,” the Minister added.
The One-Village-One-Dam policy, which falls under New Patriotic Party (NPP) government’s flagship programmes, is aimed at ensuring all-year-round agriculture in the regions of the north, through the construction of irrigation dams in every village in that part of the country.
Apart from Peasant Farmers, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has on several occasions alleged that dams built under government’s One Village One Dam project are not fit for purpose.
The NDC has consistently demanded a complete overhaul of the One Village One Dam projects, urging the government to realign its funding to produce standard dams.
