The Minority says it will do everything possible to demand accountability for the funds allocated to the planned construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam in the Upper East Region.
According to John Jinapor, the project in the Talensi District, which was earmarked to be constructed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has not seen any development with just a few months left in its tenure.
The project, for which sod was cut in 2019, was expected to consist of a hydro-solar hybrid system with 60 MW hydropower and 50 MW solar power and to be completed in the second half of 2024.
Addressing journalists at the site, the Yapei-Kusawgu legislator indicated that, approximately $12 million had already been invested in the project, with nothing to show for it.
However, the contractor is nowhere to be found, and parts of the site have been turned into farming areas by locals.
“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.
President Akufo-Addo cut the sod for the construction of the US$993 million Pwalugu multipurpose dam project in the Talensi District in November 2019.
Earlier this month, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) addressed questions about the $12 million payment made to MS Power China International Group Limited for the project.
Some lawmakers had raised concerns that the money was released despite a lack of visible progress on the project.
The bank clarified that it acted as a custodian of government accounts and followed proper procedure by releasing the funds after receiving government authorization.
They emphasised that verifying project progress after payments are made falls outside their area of responsibility.
Source: myjoyonline.com
