Lawyer and New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart Nana Yaw Osei, a lawyer, has deemed the NPP's promise to construct one village and one dam in the northern tiers of the country to be a loud and hollow electioneering message.
In a Facebook post following recent visits to the Upper East region, specifically Bolgatanga, Navrongo, and Sandema, the private legal practitioner came to the realization that contrary to reports that the dams, once constructed, will aid in year-round farming, this has not transpired; consequently, the majority of dams currently in service were built during the Kwame Nkrumah and IK Acheampong regimes.
As farmers struggle to make a living in the region surrounding this town, he named specific communities that are worse affected by the heat wave.
"I traveled on foot or by vehicle from Bolga to Sumbrungu, Kulbia, Anateem, Doba, Kaninga junction, and then to Navrongo. From Navrongo, the next major settlement on the road to Sandema is Chuchuliga, which begins the Builsa North District, in my opinion. During my travels, the excessive heat this time of year and how farmers in the region, particularly those in the aforementioned communities, obtain water for their agricultural operations were of particular concern to me.
People claim that the administrations of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Gen. I.K. Acheampong were primarily responsible for the construction of numerous dams and dugouts.
"What was constantly on my mind was the One-Village, One-Dam concept, about whose construction we made a lot of noise." Beyond the slogans, there was little evidence on the ground (at least where I went).
Attorney Nana Yaw Osie advocated for the urgent desilting of these dams so that they could serve their intended purposes.
"Due to a dearth of maintenance, the majority of these dams have silted up and dried up. They require regular dredging to generate and store water for farmers in those communities throughout the year."
"The renowned Tono Irrigation Dam was a breathtaking site. It is in close proximity to the Navrongo municipality and was the largest dam I observed serving nearby farmers. This expansive water body supplying farmers with water necessitates dredging. One would have assumed that these already extant dams/dugouts would have been dredged prior to the construction of new ones," he wrote.