Wa East MP Chastises GIDA Over Misleading Claims On $12m Pwalugu Dam Expenditure

By; Christian Kpesese

The Deputy Ranking Member on the Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee in Ghana’s Parliament, Dr Godfred Seidu Jasaw, has strongly criticised the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA) for its response to the $12 million spent on the Pwalugu Dam project describing the claim as misleading.

A statement issued by GIDA on the issue explained that the $12 million was used for the mobilisation for the Pwalugu Dam construction in accordance the agreement of the project contract.

According to the statement, the establishment of a Contractor’s Camp and Site Offices at Sariba, including 10 buildings with 100 rooms, as well as the completion of auxiliary facilities such as a wood processing factory and a steel bar factory.

Reacting to the claims by GIDA in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show, Dr Seidu Jasaw who is also the Member of Parliament for Wa East in the Upper East region stated that the current state of the project site does not match the description GIDA sought to paint to the public.

The lawmaker indicated that the, camp, containers and other structures mentioned by GIDA in its statement are conspicuounsly absent by their presence at the project cite.

“The camp did exist. In fact, they were constructing the camp as of the time we visited the place but these were temporal structures. They had blocks that were being moulded to be able to hold the containers. You see, the argument is being mixed up here.

“I am yet to read the whole statement from GIDA but my quick reaction from the renditions that have gone on is that this picture and existence of a camp could be misleading,” he stated.

Dr Jasaw further indicated that: “What Edward Bawa and his team went to see is the same site but what we are seeing now is that the containers have actually disappeared and this is rational. No contractor will leave his containers and go to construct new containers at another site, they don’t do that.

“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.

“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. These were pictures taken in October 2021,” he stated.

credit; citinewsroom