Edward Bawa, the Member of Parliament for Bongo, is calling for the prosecution of those responsible for the stalled Pwalugu Multipurpose Irrigation Dam project.
Commissioned in 2019, the project was expected to be completed within 50 months. However, during a recent visit to the site, the Minority Caucus in Parliament expressed dissatisfaction with the progress.
In an interview with Citi News, Edward Bawa stressed that NDC MPs will persistently pursue the project’s completion and seek accountability for the delays.
“We are asking exactly what they used the $12 million for. These are the answers that we are not getting, and that is part of the reason why we decided to go to the site and see what was happening, we got there and realised that nothing had been done, so it behoves on the government to find a way of ensuring that these monies are retrieved and whoever is involved is prosecuted.
“And if $12 million, you can’t find anything there, it tells you that there is a crime to be investigated. And whoever is involved in this must be made to face the full rigours of the law.”
On April 8, 2024, before the Public Accounts Committee, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, could not justify the $11.9 million paid to MS Power China International Group Limited for the Pwalugu Irrigation Project.
It was reported by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) Constituency in the Central Region, Mr Samuel Atta-Mills, that no work had been done on the site.
The PAC demanded documentation from the Bank of Ghana to investigate these transactions further.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) finally addressed concerns regarding the disbursement of $12 million for the Pwalugu Irrigation Project, despite limited visible progress.
The Central Bank clarified that the payment to contractors, MS Power China International Group Limited, was made based on government authorization, and hence, it could not give any further information.
Bernard Otabil, the Director of Communication at the Bank of Ghana, explained in an exclusive interview with Citi News that the Bank’s role as a custodian of government accounts requires it to execute authorized transactions within its mandate.
“We are the Central Bank, we are actually the chief cashiers of the government and we also hold all governments accounts. So, we would act on instructions that have been given to us. Once that approval has been sought and the project is started, then you would also have the role of the ministry of finance at some point, coming in to also look at what has been submitted and whether it is actually in line with what has been submitted with the contract that has been solely specified and when satisfied with the supporting documents that need to be presented.”
“But finally, you will also have the Controller and Accountant General coming in and making that authorization for payment to be made and that comes to us.”
“We will then go ahead to make the payment if the account is fully funded and therefore there will not be any form of disclosure on our part because it is the same. It is not different from any of the banking services that you are very much used to. In our unique position, we deal with the government and most of all the MDAs, but largely we are on the government’s side, we are the bankers of the government. The government withdraws on its own account, let’s make that clear and nobody can issue a cheque on anybody’s account.”
On November 29th, 2019, the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency (H.E.) Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, cut the sod for the construction of the Pwalugu Multi-Purpose Dam Project.
The project, which is the single largest investment ever made in the northern part of Ghana, and estimated to cost US$993 million, would consist of a Hydro-Solar hybrid system of 60 MW hydropower and 50 MW solar power.
The two technologies would complement each other to provide a reliable and stable electricity supply to the national grid. The project would also provide an irrigation scheme covering an area of twenty-five thousand (25,000) hectares and improve water supply to the Northern parts of the country.
In addition, the Multi-Purpose Dam, expected to have been completed in four years, would control the perennial flooding in the northern regions caused by heavy rains and the spillage from the Bagre Dam.