Community, MCE Disagree Over 1V 1D Implementation

By Samuel Akapule

Bolga — The Soe Community in the Bolgatanga municipality of the Upper East Region and the Chief Executive for the area have disagreed over the construction of a dam under the One Village One Dam flagship policy in the community.

While Joseph Amiyuure, the Municipal Chief Executive thinks the dam was constructed at the site of a pond, the members of the community have disagreed with him, insisting that the dam at its present size and depth was already in existence before the introduction of the One Village One Dam initiative.

The community said the only work done on the dam by Mr Amiyuure was the construction of an embankment at one side of the dam and a spillway, which was poorly constructed and directed towards houses.

The disagreement took place when Madam Tangoba Abayage, the Upper East Regional Minister paid a working visit to the dam in the company of Mr Amiyuure, as part of her two-week tour of the region. He was to show the Regional Minister some of the dams and other projects being constructed in the Bolgatanga municipality under the flagship policy.

However, during a tour of the dam in contention, Mr Amiyuure explained that it was a small pond connected to a stream that was in existence before the Assembly took steps to dredge it into a big dam with an embankment and spillway but members of the community refuted the assertion and indicated that the dam with its current size and depth was in existence since 1959.

Johnson Apasinaba, former Assembly member for the area, said the dam was considered as ancestral place and served as tourist site for decades, was surprised for Mr Amiyuure to claim to have constructed the dam from a pond. Madam Abayage expressed dissatisfaction with work on execution of project in the community and directed him to employ community entry strategy in implementing projects in communities.

She asked him to go back to the community and meet residents to ensure that the right thing was done and promised to monitor for the needs of members of community to be met. It is expected that one dam will be constructed in each community in the five regions of the north to provide water for all year farming especially during the dry season and for watering of livestock.

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