Georgina Ayamba
The Upper East Regional Women Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Georgina Ayamba believes that more women in the Upper East and North East Regions will benefit alot from the construction of the Pwalugu Multi-purpose Irrigation Dam.
In her view, once many more women are getting involved in all year round farming in the North in recent times and also joining activities along the Agro-value chain, the agricultural aspect of the Pwalugu Multi-purpose Irrigation Dam will be beneficial and take many women out of the poverty bracket.
“The women of the Upper East Region are convinced that the execution of this project by the NPP government is a dedication to humanity and an agenda for the holistic development of Northern Ghana,” Madam Ayamba said in a press statement.
In November 2019, President Nana Akufo-Addo at a durbar of Chiefs and people from the beneficiary communities and districts in the Upper East and North East Region cut the sod for the commencement of the construction of the Pwalugu Multi-purpose dam by a Chinese company, Power China.
The project is expected to cost the government of Ghana an amount of $ 993 million and will be constructed on the White Volta River, about 16km east of the current Pwalugu bridge in the Talensi District in the Upper East Region.
The irrigation will cover about 25,000 hectares of land and will boost economic activities in the Upper East and North East regions, as it will enhance the productivity of farming and attract large-scale commercial farmers and small out-growers number about 15,000.
The project also has the potential to increase annual rice production in the country by up 117,000 tons and maize by up to 49,000 tons, to reduce imports of these grains by 16% and 32% respectively. This will save foreign exchange as well as stabilize prices of these commodities on the local market.
According to Madam Ayamba, the Pwalugu Multi-purpose Dam and the benefits that will come with it, will be a sustainable solution of rural-urban migration of women and children from Upper East and North East Regions.
“…we are delighted that the NPP government has come to ameliorate the plight of the people of the region. The deaths of people and destruction of farms and properties in the region as a result of the spillage of the Bagre Dam from Burkina-Faso will become a thing of the past, once the project is completed.
The migration of our people from this region especially women and the girl-child to Southern Ghana in search for greener pastures end up taking up menial jobs and in some cases get sexually exploited, with others becoming dropouts.”
Madam Ayamba has advised women in the Upper east Region to alway consider their personal development and that of their children and communities when selecting a government or political party in an election year.
“…we have to do away with the old practice that, people and families insist on voting a particular political party, whether they get developed under that party’s governance or not. We have to think about our development too, not just the interest of some few people.” Madam Ayamba noted.
FROM: Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Bolgatanga