The Youth Wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Bongo Constituency has called on the government to institute pragmatic measures to protect people and animals from dying through the dams constructed under the One Village One Dam (1V1D).

They said the four dams under government flagship programme, were not properly constructed thereby leading to the death of four youth and several animals in the district.

A statement signed by Mr Alfred Awuni, the Constituency Youth Organiser and Mr George Ayinsakiya, the Constituency Deputy Youth Organiser and copied to the Ghana News Agency, the constituency executive expressed condolences to the bereaved families and residents who lost their animals through the dams.

“In fact, the youth of Bongo were happy when the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stated unequivocally on July 19, 2018 that, 10 dams were to be constructed in the Bongo District as part of his flagship programme, 1V1D,” the statement indicated.

“Our happiness was due to the fact that, dams in general play critical roles towards the socio-economic development of the human being, especially, the teaming unemployed youth of which Bongo and its youth are inclusive.
“We were however down spirited that only four out the ten dams promised by the president became a reality and even those four turned out be dug- outs but not dams.”

The statement added, “all these four dams have become a conduit for killing our colleagues within the ages of 13 and 18 as well as our countless animals which serve as our livelihood six months after their construction.”

The statement acknowledged that accidents do occur around dams and dug-outs and indicated that, “the issue with regards to drowning in the 1V1D in Bongo Constituency is unusual and unacceptable”, alleging that the dams were shoddily constructed “without due process on safety measures and precautions.”



The statement added, “we also believe that the necessary technical approaches or researches were not adopted before the constructions of the dams or dugouts took place.”

The Youth Wing demanded a full disclosure of the cost of the four dams to ensure accountability and transparency and promote quality of work in future that would not endanger the lives of the people and animals in the district.

“We are therefore asking the government of Ghana, opinion leaders, the Environmental Protection Agency, District Security Council, Regional Security Council and all those who matter in this regard to ensure that no life is lost again in the said dugouts to avoid extreme temperament and extreme protests,” the statement stressed.