The Member of Parliament (MP) for Wa East and Deputy Ranking Member on the Agriculture Committee in Parliament, Godfred Seidu Jasaw, has criticised the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority’s (GIDA) explanation of the $12 million expenditure on the construction of the Pwalugu Dam.
GIDA had said the amount was the mobilisation fee as per the contractual agreement with Messrs Power Construction Corporation of China (POWERCHINA) and not the final payment for work done.
In a statement dated Tuesday, May 28, 2024, GIDA said the payment, totalling $11.9 million, was to undertake preconstruction activities required before the actual construction of the Pwalugu dam begins.
It said some preconstruction activities, such as the construction of access roads, the contractor’s camp, and site offices, have been completed.
However, Mr Jasaw said the current state of the construction site at Sariba tells a different story.
He said the camp and site offices do not exist at present.
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“The camp did exist. In fact, they were constructing the camp as of the time we visited the place, but these were temporary structures. They had blocks that were being moulded to be able to hold the containers. You see, the argument is being mixed up here.
“So, as we speak, the current state of the project is that the camp doesn’t exist anymore; what you see is the relic of a camp that existed. And villagers, I’m told, came to vandalise the place when they knew the contractors were gone,” he said.
The MP added that the pictures GIDA included in its statement were taken in 2021.
“My quick reaction is that the statement by GIDA, from my hazy perusal, appears misleading. Because the impression is being given, particularly showing committee pictures with camp.”
Meanwhile, Edward Bawa, the MP for Bongo, who was on the committee that visited the site, described the 5.21km access road GIDA mentioned as a “donkey path” rather than a proper road.
The $993 million Pwalugu dam, commissioned in 2019, was scheduled to be completed this year.
The project includes the construction of a roller-compacted concrete dam 168 metres above sea level near the Pwalugu Bridge on the White Volta River and a reservoir covering an area of 262 square kilometres.
Other components include a powerhouse consisting of two Kaplan turbines with 60 megawatts of installed capacity and a solar power plant of 50 megawatts.
An irrigation scheme consisting of a 20-metre high water weir and canal network covering about 25,000 hectares was also to be installed.