Pwalugu Multipurpose dam: You’ll account for the $12m fund – Minority to government

The Minority states that it will do everything necessary to demand responsibility for the monies allocated to the proposed building of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam in the Upper East Region.

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Pwalugu Multipurpose dam so far

According to John Jinapor, the Talensi District project, which the New Patriotic Party (NPP) planned to build, has seen no progress with only a few months remaining to leave office.

The project, for which sod was cut in 2019, was planned to be a hydro-solar hybrid system with 60 MW hydropower and 50 MW solar power, with completion due in the second half of 2024.

Addressing journalists on-site, the Yapei-Kusawgu legislator stated that about $12 million had already been invested in the Pwalugu Multipurpose dam project, with nothing to show for it.

However, the contractor is nowhere to be found, and residents have turned parts of the land into farming grounds.

“We will activate all the parliamentary processes to retrieve that amount of money, almost 200 million cedis that has been dashed to this contractor. Somebody must be held accountable. $12 million can do a lot in this country. So we’ll use every legitimate means, every legal means to retrieve the money and punish those who have caused this financial crime and financial loss to the state,” he said.

In November 2019, President Akufo-Addo cut sod on the $993 million Pwalugu multipurpose dam project in Talensi District.

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) responded to inquiries earlier this month about the $12 million payment made to MS Power China International Group Limited for the project.

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Some Members of Parliament expressed worry that the funds were issued despite a lack of evident progress on the Pwalugu Multipurpose dam project.

The Bank emphasized that it served as a custodian of government accounts and followed proper procedures in distributing funds after receiving government authorization.

They stressed that they are not responsible for verifying project progress once funds have been paid with regards to the Pwalugu Multipurpose dam.