GRi in Parliament Ghana 06 - 07 - 2001
Government urged to develop Kamba river
basin for irrigation.
Eugenia Kwofie advocates alternative means of livelihood in mining areas
Government urged to develop Kamba river
basin for irrigation.
Accra (Greater Accra) 06 July 2001
Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, Member of Parliament for Lawra-Nandom on Thursday called on the government to expedite action on the construction of the proposed irrigation project in the Kamba River Basin in the Upper West Region.
Presenting a statement in Parliament, he invited the government and particularly the Minister of Food and Agriculture to revisit the issue to reduce the massive migration of youthful farmers from the region to southern Ghana.
He said Tahal Engineers Limited, a consulting engineering firm, was commissioned in the 1970s to carry out feasibility studies on the project. They provided two reports on the engineering aspects of water resources development, sub-soil and constructional material as well as information on agriculture and cropping patterns for the project.
Dr Kunbuor said the Irrigation Development Authority (IDA) proposed that a dam with a storage capacity of 130 million cubic metres in the Kamba River Basin, be built to irrigate 9,000 hectares.
He said that successive governments have always politicised the construction of the dam but have never lived up to their promises adding: "Indeed it has always made the rounds on political platforms of all political parties in the constituency."
Dr Kunbuor said his research has showed that the catchment area for the project cuts across both the Lawra and Jirapa/Lambussie District Assembly areas with land development for cropping extending from the Lawra District to the fringes of the Nadowli District.
He said it was ironic "the Upper West Region, which was recently rated tenth out of the ten regions on all official poverty indicators has no single irrigation dam and it continues to be an out-migration area predominantly for purposes of farming".
Dr Kunbuor said the socio-economic profile report by a team of researchers on the importance of the proposed dam indicated that it would be the most direct way to improving the lifestyles of the people of the region.
Technically, it is possible to produce about 2,750 kilograms of cereals per hectare under irrigation, 75 per cent of which was feasible under the proposed irrigation project.
He said farmers could produce about 135 bags of cereals per hectare per year.
Dr Kunbuor said the researchers also said the dam would reduce the drudgery of women in the project areas since they would no longer have to travel distances of about 10 kilometres to fetch water in the dry season.
Mr Mumuni Abudu Seidu, NDC- Wa Central in supporting the statement, said the request for the irrigation project has been made to successive governments and if it was developed it would be the first of its kind in the whole of the region.
He said since the people normally have nothing to do during the long dry season they were forced to migrate to the south, adding that the construction of the dam would go a long way in minimising rural-urban migration.
Mr Cletus Apul Avoka, NDC- Bawku West, said since the two Upper Regions normally suffer food deficiency, the development of the irrigation dam would go a long way in ensuring food security for the people.
He said there were indications that areas with irrigation schemes have better average living standards compared to communities without irrigation schemes.
Mr Avoka appealed for the construction of the Tamne dam in the Bawku area since it was viable for irrigation purposes and would support the people to increase their productivity.
Mr Edward Kojo Salia, NDC- Jirapa, said it was a paradox that the Upper West Region, which was one of the driest parts of the country, has not got a single irrigation scheme to support agricultural production.
He said the construction of the dam would not only support arable farming, but also the watering of livestock and thereby enhancing animal husbandry.
Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, NDC Fanteakwa, said it was regrettable that so many of the irrigation schemes in the country have become an eyesore with broken down equipment scattered all over.
He said the damming of the Volta River has displaced several communities that now lack basic necessities of life.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo called on the government to support IDA to rehabilitate the broken down equipment of irrigation schemes since "reliance on rain-fed agriculture cannot achieve the expected targets".
Mr Joe Donkor, NPP-Tano North, said government has to prioritise development projects, adding that there was the need for the people to change their agricultural practices.
He called on the Ministry of Agriculture to take a serious look at the viability of the irrigation project in the Kamba River Basin to see what could be done to implement it or to look for alternatives to support the people to improve their socio-economic status.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 06 July 2001
The Government has been urged to encourage mining companies to assist communities in which they operate to develop alternative means of livelihood.
This would help stem the depopulation of exhausted mining areas whose people normally stick to the activity as their only means of survival.
Mrs Gifty Eugenia Kwofie, NPP-Tarkwa Nsaeum, in statement read in Parliament on Thursday appealed to the government to push immediately the proposal to save mining communities from mass poverty, hunger and frustration.
"The problem of unemployment in our constituencies is assuming unimaginable proportions and the time to act is now."
The member said the Mineral Commission in collaboration with the mining companies has agreed to support the development of alternative livelihood schemes that could support socio-economic activities after mine closure.
Mr Joe Donkor, Deputy Minister of Manpower and Human Development, said farming and other cottage industries that do not necessarily depend on mining should be encouraged.
Major Samuel Amponsah, NDC-Mpohor Wassa East, called on chiefs and landlords in the mining areas to channel royalties received from mining operations to set up useful enterprises rather than expending them on unnecessary social activities.
Mr Kwadwo Baah Wiredu, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, asked Parliament to take a full look at the effects of mine closures on communities.
He suggested that mining companies could contribute effectively towards poverty alleviation programmes in the country.
The Minister recommended Mrs Kwofie's suggestions to district assemblies and other policy makers at both the national and grassroots level.
GRi…/
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