Demand accountability in implementation of 1V1D - government urged
The Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPRA), a Bolgatanga-based civil society organisation (CSO), has urged the government to demand accountability from public officials who oversee the implementation of the one village, one dam (1V1D) policy.
The Executive Director, of NORPRA, Bismark Adongo Ayorogo, said an assessment undertaken by the organisation in 2023 and 2024 revealed that the policy was a drain on the scarce public purse.
“A recent tour of these dams showed that none of the over 400 dams constructed contains water for dry season crop farming to achieve the noble policy objectives of increased agricultural productivity to achieve food security”, he stressed.
Courtesy call
Mr Ayorogo was speaking when he led a team from NORPRA to pay a courtesy call on the Upper East Regional Minister, Donatus Akamugri Atanga, after assuming office.
The visit was also to commend him for his well-articulated vision to transform the region through building irrigation infrastructure at Pwalugu, revamping defunct factories and the construction of an airport, among others.
He entreated the government to, as a matter of urgency, and in the name of promoting public resource accountability and value for money for pro-poor projects demand accountability from all those involved in the implementation of the 1V1D policy in northern Ghana.
On the free senior high school policy, he stated the country lost GH¢ 47 million, including GH¢ 10 million in northern Ghana, to procurement irregularities in the implementation of the policy from 2017 to 2023.
Severity of poverty
The Executive Director said the intensity and severity of poverty in northern Ghana required the injection of significant public resources to effectively address the age-long regional development imbalances of the country.
He said, “It is therefore refreshing to note that the government is determined to put in more resources for accelerated socio-economic transformation through the Northern Development Authority (NDA).
Considering the failure of the 1V1D policy, he urged the government to consider prioritising increased public investment in renewable energy in the form of well-constructed dams and solar-powered mechanised boreholes to empower, especially women in agriculture.
Commendation
For his part, Mr Atanga commended NORPRA for its advocacy activities over the years aimed at supporting the growth and development of the region and the entire northern Ghana as a whole.
He assured them that the government would demand accountability from past officials of the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration concerning policies that Ghanaians had been shortchanged.
