Minority Caucus Members of Parliament have claimed that the New Patriotic Party’s (NPPs) “One Village, One Dam (1V1D)” strategy was nothing more than a political gimmick, after flaws in the construction of dams were revealed.

They argued that prior to its execution, the policy was not thoroughly thought out. Their claim followed the release of the recent documentary; “Thirsty Dams,” which showed the deplorable condition of the dams built by the President Akufo-Addo administration.

Sampson Ahi, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) representative for the Bodi Constituency in the Western North Region, said the documentary vindicated the NDC’s earlier objection to the policy, in a statement following its release.

According to Mr. Sampson Ahi, the NPP government used the 1VID policy as a ruse to mislead Ghanaians.

“I think this policy of One Village, One Dam was not thought through properly. It was a propagandist policy; it was a political gimmick. That is why all of us are now seeing that even though they claim they have got some dams, they cannot even contain water.
“We are in the rainy season but when you go to most of the dams, you don’t see water in them; which means they were not done properly.”
Sampson Ahi

Furthermore, he noted that the policy was only enacted by the NPP government in order to keep a political pledge.

“How can we spend so much and we are not getting anything from it? But I believe Ghanaians are the better judges, the evidence is there for everybody to see. When we complain that they were not doing proper dams, they said no, they were doing the right thing.
“So today, those communities where they dug those dams can testify whether or not government did a prudent job or not. But for me, I think this is a policy which was not thought through properly. It was rushed just to fulfill a manifesto promise, that is why we are facing this situation.”
Sampson Ahi

Dams Not Properly Executed

On his part, Henry Yiadom Boakye, the NDC lawmaker for the Akwatia Constituency in the Eastern Region, averred that the dams were improperly built and that villages continue to have problems with water supply, even during the rainy season.

“People were saying that we are not in the rainy season. Now we are in a rainy season, it has been raining for the past three months continuously and almost every week. And still, we are having a challenge. We are not seeing what actually was promised to us. So, the question is when are we going to see this?”
Henry Yiadom Boakye

While commenting on the amount of money invested in the project that has not materialized, Henry Yiadom Boakye said the government has opened the door for bigger losses than it originally envisaged.

“How can we invest over 200 million into a project without getting revenue or something that will benefit the community? So, we have lost a lot of money, very big money. You can just even invest it into a different sector to provide schools.”
Henry Yiadom Boakye