TIG Post

Tag: Dam

  • Akosombo Dam spillage victims demand power supply restoration by ECG in 14 days

    Akosombo Dam spillage victims demand power supply restoration by ECG in 14 days

    Residents of Adidome in the Central Tongu District of the Volta Region have issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), demanding the immediate restoration of power to their community.

    They are among affected groups in the North, Central, and South Tongu districts of the Volta Region, as well as the Asuogyaman District in the Eastern Region.

    In a press statement issued by the office of the Assembly Member for the area, Guggisberg Fiagbenu, on behalf of the affected residents and business owners expressed growing frustration over unreliable power supply and what they perceive as unjustified charges.

    Many residents believe their electricity costs have been inflated since the flooding, making financial recovery even more difficult.

    Residents are pressing ECG to issue timely notifications ahead of power interruptions, enabling businesses and households to make adequate arrangements.

    Additionally, they are requesting awareness initiatives on ECG’s digital platforms and urging corrective action against personnel exhibiting unprofessional conduct.

    “The disconnection exercise, which was carried out two weeks ago without prior
    notice to residents, has resulted in significant inconvenience and economic
    hardship for many households and businesses in the area.

    As the elected representative of the people of Adidome Central Electoral Area, it is my duty to advocate for their rights and interests. Residents of Adidome have raised several concerns regarding the disconnection exercise, including: Lack of Actual Bills: Since the flood situations from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams, some residents have not received actual bills from ECG for due payment. Estimated Bills: Over 98% of residents, who were victims of the flood,
    were tasked to pay estimated bills. This is not helpful in remedying situations in the enclave,” parts of the statement read.

    In 2023, spillage from the dam submerged homes, businesses, schools, hospitals, and farmlands, forcing thousands of residents to flee.

    The controlled release of water severely affected Indigenous communities along the Volta River, with Mepe bearing the brunt of the devastation. Initially, reports estimated that 8,000 people across eight communities had been displaced. However, by October 19, this figure had surged to a staggering 31,000.

    Many sought refuge with relatives in other areas, while others are confined to temporary shelters as floodwaters continue to engulf their communities due to the Volta River Authority (VRA) spillage.

    The Akosombo Dam, with its vast storage capacity of 150 billion cubic meters and an optimal operating level of 276 feet, has been a vital provider of hydroelectric power in Ghana.

  • Pwalugu Dam contract to be terminated by govt – Agriculture Minister

    Pwalugu Dam contract to be terminated by govt – Agriculture Minister

    The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has hinted that government has plans to terminate the contract for the Pwalugu Dam project which was initiated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

    During an interaction with journalists after a three-day tour of various departments and agencies under his ministry, the minister indicated that a new plan is required to guarantee the successful execution of the initiative.

    “What we will do is to terminate that contract immediately. We’ll terminate the Pwalugu contract, look for a contractor, look for funding, and then immediately ensure execution of the contract,” he stated.

    In response to questions about possible judgment debt consequences, the minister assured that proper due diligence would be conducted.

    “Before we terminate, we’ll refer it to the Attorney General’s department for advice. But we are prepared to make sure that the Pwalugu project is executed. And I can assure you that it is going to be John Mahama’s signature project in the North,” he added.

    The Pwalugu multipurpose dam project was launched by the previous administration in 2019 with a $993 million contract. It was designed as a hybrid system, combining 60 MW of hydropower and 50 MW of solar power.

    In addition, the project was expected to manage overflow from the Bagre Dam, reducing recurring floods in northern Ghana and improving irrigation capabilities.

    Although the project was initially planned for completion by 2024, the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA) recently disclosed that $12 million has been spent on initial preparations and site development, but actual construction has yet to begin.


  • At least 45 people killed after dam in western Kenya collapses due to heavy rainfall

    At least 45 people killed after dam in western Kenya collapses due to heavy rainfall

    A dam broke in western Kenya on Monday, killing at least 45 people and leaving many others missing. The rushing water destroyed houses and blocked a main road. This information was shared by the Interior Ministry.

    The Old Kijabe Dam in the Mai Mahiu area of the Great Rift Valley collapsed during a flash flood, causing water to overflow and carry mud, rocks, and trees downstream, according to police official Stephen Kirui.

    Cars got stuck in the rubble on a very busy road in Kenya, and medical staff helped the hurt people while a lot of water covered a big space.

    The Kenya Red Cross said that 109 people were taken to the hospital and 49 people are missing.

    William Lokai said to Citizen TV that he heard a loud noise and then his house got flooded with water. He ran away through the roof with his brother and kids.

    Continuous rain in Kenya has led to flooding, which has already resulted in the deaths of nearly 100 people and the delay of school openings. The country has been getting a lot of rain since mid-March, and the weather department says there will be even more.

    Kenya’s Interior Minister, Kithure Kindiki, said that all public and private dams and water reservoirs must be checked within 24 hours starting on Monday afternoon to prevent future problems. The ministry will decide who needs to leave their homes and where they will go after checking everything.

    The Kenya National Highways Authority said there will be a lot of traffic and debris on the roads near Naivasha and Narok, to the west of Nairobi.

    Flooding is happening in East Africa because of a lot of rain. In Tanzania, 155 people have died and in Burundi, more than 200,000 people are affected.

    A boat overturned in Kenya’s northern Garissa county on Sunday night. The Kenyan Red Cross saved 23 people, but many others are still missing.

    Heavy rain caused Kenya’s biggest airport to flood on Saturday. Some flights had to go to a different airport because of this. Videos of the flooded runway, terminals, and cargo area were posted on the internet.

    More than 200,000 people in Kenya have been affected by the floods. Houses in areas that often flood are underwater, and people are staying in schools for safety.

    President William Ruto told the National Youth Service to give land for a temporary camp for people who are affected.

  • We’re not responsible for Akosombo Dam spillage disaster – GMA

    We’re not responsible for Akosombo Dam spillage disaster – GMA

    The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMA) has indicated it cannot take the blame for the disaster caused during the spillage of the Akosombo Dam.

    According to the the Director-General of the Agency, Eric Asuman, it issued a prior notice to the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the victims before the action begun adding, “that was early enough for anybody to watch and be prepared and take the necessary precautions”.

    “Our forecast indicated that we were going to have an above-normal forecast. That was early enough for anybody to watch and be prepared and take the necessary precautions. It couldn’t have been the fact that GMA didn’t give them information. We did, and the news came that we were being blamed. If you talk to the right people at VRA, they will tell you that couldn’t have been the problem of GMA,” he said.

    In September 2023, more than 30,000 were stranded after excess water was spilled from the Akosombo and Kpong dams by the Volta River Authority (VRA).

  • Miners ordered to pay $9.7 billion for dam accident in Brazil

    Miners ordered to pay $9.7 billion for dam accident in Brazil

    A judge in Brazil has told big mining companies BHP and Vale, along with their joint venture Samarco, to pay a lot of money for causing a dam to burst in 2015.

    The dam in the south-east of the country broke and caused a big mudslide that killed 19 people.

    The dam also made the Rio Doce river very dirty, making it hard for the water to flow to the ocean.

    It was not clear at first how much money each company has to pay.

    Judge Vinicius Cobucci said the companies are responsible for causing emotional pain to the people affected by the incident.

    He said that the money, which will be changed to account for the increase in prices since 2015, will be put into a state fund and used for projects and plans in the area affected by the dam collapse.

    The decision was made after state and federal public prosecutors filed a lawsuit.

    Vale said to the media that they didn’t know about the decision yet.

    The company said that as of December last year, the Renova Foundation has paid out 34. 7bn reais for compensation.

    BHP and Samarco did not answer the media’s questions right away.

    The decision lets the companies ask for a review of the ruling.

    Samarco is a partnership between two companies, BHP from Australia and Vale from Brazil.

    The disaster in Minas Gerais state was very bad and caused 700 people to leave their homes. It is one of the worst environmental disasters in the country.

    When the dam broke, a lot of thick, red toxic mud flooded and destroyed the village of Bento Rodrigues.

    It also made the Rio Doce river and Atlantic Ocean 650km away dirty, harming animals and making the drinking water bad for hundreds of thousands of people.

    A report from 2016 said that the dam collapsed because it was badly designed.

    The report, requested by Samarco’s owners BHP and Vale, did not say who caused the disaster.

    Walls of dams that hold mining waste are usually made of a mix of sandy and clay-like material.

    The report found that the way the Fundão dam was built in 2011 and 2012 didn’t let water drain properly, which caused the dam to break on 5 November 2015.

    The sand in the dam walls got very wet and started acting like a liquid, which is called “liquefaction”.

    A little earthquake on the same day as the dam burst might have made the dam break even faster, the report said.

    The disaster caused people to closely examine the safety rules in the mining industry.

    BHP and Vale are being sued by over 700,000 people in the UK.

    In January 2019, a dam owned by Vale broke in the same state, close to the town of Brumadinho. This caused 270 people to die.

  • Cameroon: Dam burst in Yaounde kills 23 – Army reports

    Cameroon: Dam burst in Yaounde kills 23 – Army reports

    A burst dam unleashed a torrent of water in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, resulting in the tragic loss of at least 23 lives, as reported by the army’s rescue unit on Monday.

    The incident occurred on Sunday around 4:00 PM local time (1500 GMT) when a colonial-era dam failed, allowing water from a nearby small lake to flood the area, according to Assola Joseph, a local leader in the Mbankolo neighborhood.

    On Monday morning, residents and rescue teams were engaged in the painstaking task of sifting through the wreckage, which included debris, shattered timber, uprooted banana trees, and corrugated sheeting, all scattered across a steep hillside.

    According to a Reuters journalist on-site, a minimum of five bodies have been retrieved, and a minimum of 30 houses have been obliterated.

  • Ukrainians spend night on roofs and in trees after dam attack

    Ukrainians spend night on roofs and in trees after dam attack

    On Tuesday morning, a major dam in Kherson, southern Ukraine, suffered severe damage, putting approximately 42,000 people at risk of flooding.

    Due to the rising floodwaters, some individuals in affected areas were left with no choice but to spend the night on their rooftops or seek refuge in trees.

    President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has issued a warning, stating that hundreds of thousands of people are now without access to clean water. The flood levels in certain affected regions are expected to reach their highest point later today.

    According to reports from Russia’s state media, at least seven individuals are currently missing, and a state of emergency has been declared in the annexed part of Ukraine’s Kherson region.

    Both Ukraine and Russia have engaged in a blame game regarding the dam collapse. President Zelensky has accused Russia of deliberately triggering an “environmental bomb of mass destruction.”

    Conversely, Russia claims that Ukraine orchestrated the attack on the dam to divert attention from what Moscow perceives as Kyiv’s failures in its counter-offensive.

    The remaining structure of the Kakhovka dam is likely to deteriorate further over the next few days, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said.

    In an intelligence update posted on Twitter, the MoD says the dam partially failed shortly before 03:00 local time on Tuesday and the entire eastern portion of the structure was swept away by midday.

    It also says the water level in the Kakhovka reservoir was at a record high shortly before the breach, which led to a “particularly high volume of water inundating the area downstream”.

    But the MoD also says the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is “highly unlikely” to face immediate safety issues over the dropping water levels in the reservoir.

  • TV chef cries after dam burst in Ukraine

    TV chef cries after dam burst in Ukraine

    As worries mount that hundreds of communities could be submerged by floodwater, Ukraine has accused Russia of detonating a dam on the Dnipro River in Nova Kakhovk.

    At least 24 distinct communities in Kherson, the Ukrainian province occupied by Moscow, are currently undergoing evacuations.

    This morning, a dam wall fell, putting drinking water supplies and Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant in peril.

    The bomb has affected several locals, including Ukrainian TV chef Olia Hercules.

    She took to Instagram and Twitter and posted a video about what happened.

    She said: ‘They [Russia] blew up the dam in Nova Kakhovk.

    ‘Not a lot of people know how much suffering and ecological upheaval they have caused when they built it in the 1950s.

    ‘Today with no warning to people to anyone, they just blew it up creating another ecological disaster, another human disaster.

    ‘My heart is broken. How can they hate life so much?

    ‘And today apart from urging everyone to continue supporting us, I appeal to all the eco-warriors of the world because I feel like there hasn’t been enough support from you.

    ‘They [Russia] are ecological terrorists, they are terrorists in every sense of the word.

    ‘Right now cattle are being drowned, people are of course losing their homes.

    ‘There has been irreversible damage. I cannot even explain what has been happening. It is just horrible.’

    Locals have been told by Russian authorities to collect personal belongings and documents, take food for 3 days and drinking water.

    They’ve also been told to ‘turn off gas and water before leaving your residential buildings’.

    A state of emergency has been declared in the Nova Kakhovka district with reports of Russian soldiers patrolling the streets.

    Already a zoo called Kazkova Dibrova, located right on the bank of the Dnipro, was completely flooded and all 300 animals were dead.

    The water level in the district is reported to have risen by more than 11 metres since the dam explosion.

    Ukraine’s interior ministry has also claimed the southern region of Kherson – where people are being evacuated – is being shelled.

    Intelligence chief Olexsiy Danilov accused Russia’s 205th Motorized Rifle Brigade, who were stationed nearby, of carrying out the attack.

    Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, says it has launched a criminal investigation following the dam breach after both sides blamed one another for the explosion.

    The breach has been called an ‘ecological disaster’ with the Dnipro River now contaminated with industrial substances.

    Ukraine’s military has accused Russia’s forces of blowing up the dam and President Zelensky said: ‘This is just one day of Russian aggression. This is just one Russian act of terrorism.

    ‘This is just one Russian war crime. Now Russia is guilty of brutal ecocide.

    ‘Any comments are superfluous. The world must react. Russia is at war against life, against nature, against civilisation.

    ‘Russia must leave the Ukrainian land and must be held fully accountable for its terror.’

    The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, said on Twitter the dam’s rupture ‘clearly qualifies as a war crime’ because it is the destruction of civilian infrastructure.

    He promised to hold Russia and its proxies accountable.

    Foreign Secretary James Cleverly described the act as a ‘catastrophe’ and ‘abhorrent’ act.

    He said: ‘The destruction of Kakhovka dam is an abhorrent act.

    ‘Intentionally attacking exclusively civilian infrastructure is a war crime.

    ‘The UK stands ready to support Ukraine and those affected by this catastrophe.’

    The foreign secretary visited Kyiv this week, where he met his counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and Zelensky.

    Ukrainian forces were widely seen to be moving forward with a long-anticipated counteroffensive in patches along more than 1,000-kilometers of frontline in the east and south of Ukraine.

    But this damage could hinder Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the south and distract its government, while at the same time Russia depends on the dam to supply water to Crimea.

    The Nova Kakhovka dam is not the first to have been targeted since the start of the conflict.

    A missile attack destroyed the dam at Karachunivske reservoir near the city of Kryvyi Rih in southern Ukraine last September.

    This caused widespread flooding and people were told to evacuate.

    A month later, there were missile attacks on hydroelectric dams at Zaprorizhzhia, Kremenchuk, and on the Dniester river, in the west of the country.

  • Major Ukrainian dam allegedly blown up by Russia

    Major Ukrainian dam allegedly blown up by Russia

    The Ukrainian military has leveled allegations against Russian forces for deliberately causing the destruction of a significant dam in the southern region of Kherson, which is currently under Russian control.

    According to a local military official, this act has resulted in the flooding of numerous settlements, affecting at least eight different areas.

    As a consequence, evacuation efforts have commenced, aiming to safeguard the lives of approximately 16,000 individuals who are now at risk due to the rising floodwaters.

    In contrast, a local official appointed by the Russian administration has disputed these claims, asserting that only the upper portion of the power plant was damaged by shelling, denying any destruction of the dam itself.

    Kherson’s regional head Oleksandr Prokudin has accused Russia of committing “yet another act of terror”.

    In a video message posted on social media, he warns that water levels in the Dnipro river will be “critical” within five hours.

    Prokudin says evacuation of those residents living in the threatened areas on the Ukraine-controlled right (western) bank of the Dnipro river has already started.

    And he also appeals to the residents on the opposite bank – currently under Russian control – to immediately leave their homes.

  • KKD calls National Cathedral excavation a dam

    KKD calls National Cathedral excavation a dam

    Veteran Ghanaian broadcaster Kwasi Kyei Darkwa, popularly known as KKD, has scoffed at the government’s National Cathedral project that has received divided opinions from the public.

    A disgruntled Kwasi Kyei Darkwa belittled the facility situated within 9 acres of newly landscaped gardens adjacent to Osu Cemetery (which is located at North Ridge), describing it as a dam.

    In his interaction with JoyNews’ Benjamin Akakpo on Monday, he passionately exclaimed “Now look where we are. Look what monies we’ve spent on the dam at Ridge and we’ve gotten 600 million (dollars).

    The National Cathedral project which currently has crater-like features due to the suspension of work over lack of funds, is to provide a 5,000 permanent seat auditorium which expands to 15,000 seats on a 9-acres portion of land. Recent pictures online show the portions of the piece of land being occupied by water.

    According to research, the size of a standard dam can vary significantly based on its purpose, location, and design. Considering the land area required for the project, large dams are the closest in comparison. 

    Large dams are characterized by substantial engineering structures, often exceeding a height of 100 meters, and a reservoir capacity that typically ranges from hundreds of millions to billions of cubic meters. An acre is equivalent to 4,046.86 square meters but since acre is a unit of area and cubic meters is a unit of volume, there is no direct conversion between the two.

    This is not the first time the national cathedral project has been ridiculed. An aide to former president John Dramani Mahama, Stan Dogbe on February 4, 2023, described the project as “the most expensive ‘hole’ ever dug in the world.”

    “It cost Ghana a whopping GHC 399 million to dig this hole only- for a cathedral that no one knows how much it will finally cost us,” he tweeted.

    As of January 2023, the government had spent GH₵339.003.064.86 on the National Cathedral project according to the  Executive Director of the National Cathedral Secretariat, Dr Paul Opoku Mensah.

    The amount includes a total of GH₵113 million paid to the Consultant, Sir David Adjaye and GH₵225 million paid directly to the Secretariat for the construction of the project.

    Monies spent on the national cathedral – a state-owned project have been procured from the Contingency Vault, per information from Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.

    While venting his spleen on-air, Kwasi Kyei Darkwa suggested that due to government’s lack of financial prudence, it failed to generate the funds needed for the cathedral from local investors.

    “Isn’t that money Jospong Group can give you? Accra Friendship Club which I am a member of, or East Legon Executive Club which I am a member of and many of my friends are members – must be able to raise that money for you if they believe that you will use the money prudently,” he said.

    “I have lost fate in this administration,” KKD concluded.

    Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has indicated that the National Cathedral project will cost over GH¢1. He said this comprises “the cost of compensations, demolition, tax waivers, consultancy, coupled with other stuff needed.”

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • Water levels in Zimbabwe’s biggest dam too low for power

    Electricity shortages that have been plaguing Zimbabwe are set to worsen after an authority that manages the country’s biggest dam said water levels are now too low to continue power generation activities.

    The Zambezi River Authority, which runs the Kariba Dam jointly owned by Zimbabwe and neighbouring Zambia, said in a letter dated Nov. 25 that water levels are at a record low and electricity generation must stop.

    The Kariba South Hydro Power Station provides Zimbabwe with about 70% of its electricity and has been producing significantly less than its capacity of 1,050 megawatts in recent years due to receding water levels caused by droughts.

    The Kariba plant has been generating 572 megawatts of the 782 megawatts of electricity produced in the country, according to the website of the state-run power firm, Zimbabwe Power Company.

    The dam “no longer has any usable water to continue undertaking power generation operations,” said the authority’s chief executive officer, Munyaradzi Munodawafa, in a letter to the Zimbabwe Power Company.

    The authority “is left with no choice” except to “wholly suspend” power generation activities pending a review in January when water levels are expected to have improved, said Munodawafa in the letter seen by The Associated Press and widely reported in local media.

    The authority has been reporting low levels of water at Kariba Dam during this period preceding the rainy season in recent years, but not enough to shut down power generation activities.

    Coal-fired power stations that also provide some electricity are unreliable due to ageing infrastructure that constantly breaks down, while the country’s solar potential is yet to be fully developed to meaningfully augment supply.

    Households and industries have been going for hours, and at times days, without electricity due to shortages in recent months.

    The State-run Herald newspaper reported on Monday that an ongoing expansion of a major coal-fired power station, Hwange, could help plug the shortages exacerbated by the Kariba plant shut down if it goes live by year-end as scheduled.

    Source: African News

  • Ethiopia ‘bans flights over Nile Dam’

    Ethiopia has banned flights in its airspace over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) for security reasons, according to the privately-owned Reporter website.

    “The director-general of the Ethiopian Civil Aviation, Col Wesenyeleh Hunegnaw, told Reporter that following consultations with relevant security organs, the airspace in Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State [north-western Ethiopia] where the dam is being built is closed to all flights,” the report said.

    He said no passenger or cargo planes will be allowed to fly over the dam, but permission could be issued on request.

    The air force commander, Maj Gen Yilma Merdasa, also warned last week that the air force had modernised its fighter jets and was capable of defending the dam from any enemy attack.

    The controversial dam, which is expected to be the largest in Africa, has strained Ethiopia’s relations with Egypt and to some extent Sudan.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Bagre Dam spillage: Farms underwater in Bawku

    Several farms along the White Volta in the Bawku West District in the Upper East Region have been hit by flooding, resulting from the spillage of excess water from the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso.

    “Farms planted with crops like millet and sorghum are underwater now, “ the Director-General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Eric Nana Agyemang Prempeh, told the Daily Graphic from northern Ghana yesterday where he had been for the past few days to oversee efforts to protect lives and property from the devastating effects of the spillage.

    The spill gates of the dam were opened last Monday.

    Bawku West is the first area in northern Ghana to be hit this year by the devastating effects that come with the opening of the dam.

    No casualties

    No casualties have been recorded.

    Nana Agyemang Prempeh said the large volumes of water from the dam were drifting further downwards and would hit other areas in the next few days.

    “If you consider that the average discharge of water from the dam is 76.50m3 per second, you will have no doubt that the flooding will be heavy this year,” he said.

    Background

    Communities downstream the White Volta have over the years been at the receiving end anytime the Burkinabe authorities spill excess water from the Bagre Dam.

    This year, NADMO had increased its activities with intensive preventive measures.

    On August 5, this year, the organisation issued a flood alert to a number of communities in northern Ghana asking residents to evacuate to safe areas.

    Source: Class FM

  • Our dams are for modern irrigation Government debunks peasant farmers report

    The government has debunked assertions that 90% of dams under the One-Village-One-Dam (1V1D) project in the Upper East Region cannot be used for farming purposes.

    The Minister of State at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Dr Gyiele Nurah, described the report by the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) as “false”.

    He said the conclusions of the research led by Prof. Joseph Yaro of the Department of Geography at the University of Ghana did not have any basis.

    With funding from OXFAM, the researchers examined about 140 dams during the study.

    It established that so far; 83 out of the 140 dams promised the by the government, have been completed.

    “Most of these (1V1D) dams can be classified basically as domestic or livestock dams in terms of use. So irrigation really is out of the question for probably 90% of these dams. It is not possible for irrigation”, Professor Yaro said.

    However, Dr Nurah maintained that the agriculture sector was “now in the modern era of irrigation”.

    Source: theghanareport.com

  • Ethiopia PM defends dam: ‘We are tired of begging’

    Ethiopia will push ahead with filling the Grand Renaissance Dam because the country needs to develop and provide electricity for its people, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said.

    He told parliament that the country had already lost money because of delays. Construction began in 2011, and when it is full it will be Africa’s biggest hydroelectric power plant.

    “We are tired of begging and the desire to develop does not mean we have intentions to harm other countries,” the Ethiopian News Agency quoted him as saying.

    The dam was not intended to create any diplomatic rift, he said.

    The speed with which Ethiopia fills up the dam’s reservoir will affect the flow downstream for Sudan and Egypt.

    Egypt does not want Ethiopia to fill the dam until an agreement is signed. The three nations are to resume talks on Tuesday.

    Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 90% of its fresh water, views the project as an existential threat.

    But Mr Abiy said some 50 million Ethiopians had no clean drinking water or electricity.

    “Completing the project and utilising it is no different than fulfilling the basic rights like that of Egypt where 98% of people have electricity.”

    In March, Ethiopia pulled out of US-mediated talks, accusing the US of overstepping the role of neutral observer.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Minister orders dam water of 2012 National Best Farmer tested

    The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resource, Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has inspected two dams suspected to have illegally created with treated water on the farm of Reverend Lemuel Martey, 2012 National Best Farmer.

    The Minister after the inspection at the farm located at Afienya- Mataheko Rice city in the Ningo-Prampram District, instructed engineers of the Ghana Water Company Limited to take samples and retest after which investigations and the needed actions would be taken.

    She indicated that “we heard they had tapped GWCL treated water for the dams and therefore came to check, some samples had been taken for testing, if there is any criminality, the law will take its full course”.

    She said it was a serious issue as according to her using treated water for a dam meant depriving a number of households of treated water.

    Engineer Clifford Abdallah Briamah, Managing Director of GWCL, who together with other District Managers accompanied the Minister for the inspection, said previous test by his outfit on the smallest of the dams revealed that it contained chlorine treated water.

    Engineer Briamah said “both reserviours are believed to be filled with treated water, the first test we did on the small dam showed traces of our water”

    He added that samples would be taken to the Ghana Standard Authority and other independent agencies to also test for confirmation to ensure that the right investigations were done saying “this is not only about GWCL, but a national security issue as they are depriving huge numbers of people from getting the needed treated water”.

    At the site, Mr Albert Nortey,elder brother of the 2012 National Best Farmer, who took the entourage round the farm, claimed the dams were created by their mother some 40 years ago adding that it contained rained water.

    Mr Nortey said even though December was the last time rain water entered the dam, it was still full because it never dries up saying they have laid pipes and valves to direct all flood water in the farm to the two dams.

    The dams, he indicated, were being used for fish farming and rearing of cattle saying most of the farm lands had been sold for residential purpose.

    In another development, the GWCL had discovered a client at Gbetsiley in the Kpone-Katamanso Municipality who was engage in selling treated water to tankers even though he was using a domestic metre.

    Engineer Briamah briefing the media on that said taps of that person had been disconnected pending investigation saying officers of the GWCL would comb the premises to see if they have bypassed the metre as the quantity of water they were consuming was not indicating a commercial nature.

    Source: GNA

  • One Village, One Dam policy providing timely relief to northern farmers – Report

    Three years on since assuming office, and with the construction of a number of many dams in the northern region under the One Village, One Dam initiative, the promise by then candidate Akufo-Addo and its execution by his government appears to be one of the greatest policies to positively affect farmers in the northern part of the country.

    Even though a number of villages in the north are yet to benefit from the One Village, One Dam initiative, a news feature broadcast by Ghana Television has proved the significant impact the dams built so far by the government is having on farming and many people in a number of communities in the northern regions of the country.

    Hitherto, the frustrations of farmers in the north heightens around this time of the year when the harmattan intensifies, leaving their farmlands extremely dry and not conducive for farming. Also, they struggle to feed their cattle and other livestock, as they had to travel several kilometers away to feed their animals and also quench their thirst.

    However, the construction of the dams have now provided timely reliefs to these farmers, as showed in the GTV feature. According to the farmers themselves who spoke to GTV from various communities, the dams have changed the dynamics as they are now able to farm during the dry season and are able to also feed their cattle without travelling many miles.

    “We used to go far with the cattle and fetch water. But now that the dam is here, it is helping the rearing of the animals. There is also wet grass so they feed on the grass and then they come and drink the water,” 75 year old farmer, Andrews Sampana told GTV.

    “These days, we are able to farm even in the dry season. As a result, we make some money.”

    Similar words of satisfaction were echoed to GTV in several parts of the northern regions they visited where the government has constructed irrigation dams for farming.

    The One Village, One Dam initiative is not only providing timely water for farming and cattle rearing, it is also providing alternative livelihood for farmers who decide to down their tools completely during the dry season.

    As was showed in the GTV news feature, some of these farmers resort to fishing in the dam during the dry season to make a living.

    Like Oliver Twist, farmers in the north are asking for the government to construct more dams.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Drop highly inflated $366m Pwalugu dam project NDC MPs to Akufo-Addo

    Members of Parliament (MPs) from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have sent a message to the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, demanding from him the immediate suspension of the US$366million Pwalugu Multi-purpose Dam deal which is currently before Parliament.

    According to the NDC MPs, the cost of the project is highly inflated and must immediately be withdrawn for proper scrutiny before it commences.

    “We maintain that the cost of the dam is highly inflated and unacceptable when compared to the cost of similar projects within and outside Ghana”, noted the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, who addressed a press conference in Parliament, Wednesday afternoon, over the dam project.

    For instance, they said 6000MW capacity of a renaissance hydro dam built by Ethiopia cost them US$6.4billion at a unit cost of US$1million. Uganda on the other hand also built the 183MW Isimba dam at US$568million at a unit cost US$962million.

    Further to that, the 660MW Kafue dam built by Zambia cost the nation US$600million at a unit cost of US$1million while that of the 187MW Gilgel Gibe III dam cost US$1.8billion at a unit cost US$1million.

    The 400MW Bui Dam on the other hand, according to the Minority Caucus, also cost Ghana US$790million at a unit cost of US$1.9 compared to the US$366million 60MW Pwalugu Dam at a unit cost of US$6million.

    “The Pwalugu dam at 60MW which is expected to cost a whooping US$366million is extremely exorbitant and unacceptable. What this mean is that the unit cost of the Pwalugu Dam will eventually amount to US$6million per Megawatt. The cost is highly inflated. It defies conscience relative to value for money and must be suspended for further scrutiny”, an emotional Haruna Iddrisu opined.

    Another issue of concern to the NDC MPs is the manner at which the Government hurriedly commissioned the dam project when approval for the contract had not been approved.

    They are also much concerned about the way and manner the contract was awarded to PowerChina International Group Limited, insisting that the processes lacked transparency and is an affront to the procurement laws of the land.

    “How was PowerChina International Group Limited selected as the contractor for this project? What was the procurement process adopted? It is obvious that President Akufo-Addo is attempting to saddle the state with huge debts that have the dangerous potential of crippling this nation. Even more troubling is the secrecy and opaque manner in which the contract was supposed to have been awarded. How come local companies are not involved in a giant project such as this which in the words of the President is fully funded by the Ghanaian tax payer? Why is the Government not adopting an open competitive process? We are convinced that the strategy adopted by this Government to introduce the agreement at the closing hours of Parliament in December last year was a deliberate attempt to railroad the process and avoid through scrutiny”, noted the Minority Leader who was surrounded by his followers.

    To them, there is no value for money in the said project and the earlier it is suspended for proper scrutiny the better for the Government.

  • River Nile dam talks ‘in four-year deadlock’

    Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri has said that three-way talks with Sudan and Ethiopia over operating the Grand Renaissance Dam and filling its reservoir have made no progress in four years.

    Read:Egypt outrage as Aids patient expelled from hospital

    Speaking at a news conference in Cairo with his Kenyan counterpart Monica Juma, Mr Shoukri said Egypt recognised Ethiopia’s right to build the dam as long as it did not impact massively his country’s share of the River Nile’s waters.

    Read:Prisoners go on a hunger strike in Egypt

    The dam – on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia – should provide 6,000 megawatts of power, but has faced opposition in Egypt because it will worsen water shortages.

    Source: bbc.com