Upper East Minister before the Tongo Rana at his Palace
Upper East Regional Minister Paulina Abayage has announced the commitment of government to commence the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region.
According to her, plans are far advanced to get the multipurpose dam started this year. When completed, the dam is expected to collect excess water from the Bagre Dam and heavy downpours to help curb the annual flooding in the Talensi District and some communities under the West Mamprusi District of the Northern Region.
It is also expected to produce hydro-power to supply electricity and produce channels for irrigation for all-year-round farming.
Government is expected to provide about 700 million US dollars to completely construct the dam.
According to Madam Abayage, she has the assurance of President Akufo-Addo and the Vice President, Dr. Bawumia, who are committed to raising funds, to get the dam constructed before the end of their tenure in office.
The minister gave the assurance at the palace of the Paramount Chief of the Talensi Traditional Area, Tongraan Kugblisong Nalebtang, on the last day of her courtesy calls on paramount chiefs in the region.
The construction of a multipurpose dam at Pwalugu has been on the drawing board for long, but successive governments have not been able to start probably due to the huge capital needed.
It has widely been reported that the Kufuor-led government lobbied for funding from Brazil to commence the project, but the money was diverted to fund portions of the Eastern Corridor road by the John Mahama-led government, which was in power when the Brazilian fund finally arrived.
Touching on some social interventions, she said the interventions are mainly meant to help eradicate poverty from all districts across the country, and get people improving on their livelihoods.
Madam Abayage acknowledged the role chiefs play in the mobilization of community members for development. She, therefore, pleaded with Tongraan to mobilize his people to support the government in its bid to develop the district.
Tongraan Kugblisong Nalebtang complained about the bad nature of the roads in the district and the regional capital, saying “the region deserves better”. He appealed to government to pay attention to the problems at the Tongo Hospital to properly function as a district hospital.
According to him, the traditional council supports mining in the form of deep shaft and large-scale, where bigger companies would come in and properly employ the people of the area and give them good retirement packages.
FROM: Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Tongo