Flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Mahama says he will look into the non-execution of the Pawlugu Dam despite several millions of dollars earmarked for the project.
In an engagement with the media dubbed ‘Mahama Conversations’ during a campaign tour of the Upper East Region, the former president recalled his doubts about the project when the government revealed it was going to be funded from the country’s budget.
The intermittent funding he explained, has led to the stalling of work on site.
“When this new government came, they took it up, and in 2019 they cut sod for it. But I noticed something. They said it was going to be funded from the Government of Ghana budget and I knew that that was going to be a problem because to have an almost one million dollar project be funded from the budget of the Government to Ghana then you can be sure that it will face the hazards that every other project that depends on the consolidated fund faces,” former President Mahama said.
President Mahama pledged to investigate officials charged with the execution of the project.
“Unfortunately we have rather lost money because almost $12m was paid for no work done. You go to the site and there is absolutely nothing there and so somebody has caused financial loss to the state and they must be held to account to come and answer what happened,” he said.
The Pawlugu Dam was intended to mitigate the recurring floods in the Upper East Region.
Former President Mahama stated that the next NDC government under his leadership will secure substantial funding to realize the project.
“It is a project that is desirable,” he said. “We intend to continue, we are not going to abandon it. We are going to look for a source of dedicated funding for it so we can push it from start to finish without the kind of hazard that projects like this face when they depend on the consolidated fund.”
Source: Kasapafmonline.com/Mitchell Asare Amoamah
