Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the presidential candidate for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), has committed to prioritise the development of the Pwalugu Multi-purpose Dam in the Upper East Region if elected President.
He described the dam as a priority project that should be constructed.
He stated that even though the sod for the project has been cut but no work has begun, he is confident that it will be completed.
Addressing the clergy during his continuing campaign trip of the Upper East Region, the Vice President stated that the project will be finished to assist alleviate the perennial floods caused by the Bagre Dam spilling in Burkina Faso.
“My priority is going to be agriculture, agriculture in large scale commercial agriculture, mechanised agriculture with the application of technology. This is what has been lacking.
“We have the land, we have the water and so we need to move into large scale commercial production, mechanised, with technology that we are going to use to help our farmers access credit and with irrigation.
“I do not doubt in my mind that I was championing the Pwalugu dam. We have not yet been able to do it. But by the grace of God, I believe we are going to do the Pwalugu dam.
“It has to be done. It’is a major priority because that can bring 28,000 hectares into cultivation and I want to see, and of course, it’s also going to generate electricity and stop the flooding that we are seeing usually when the Bagre dam is opened across our country. So I want to really focus on agriculture to reduce food prices along the White Volta, we can do a lot and the North, in particular, has vast amounts of land.”
The Pwalugu Multi-Purpose Dam project is expected to store water for hydropower, for downstream irrigation and for flood protection for people living in the White Volta Basin.
Meanwhile, he has also promised to reduce the cost of power under his administration.
“The next major objective for me is to bring down the cost of power, electricity and how am I going to do it? I want to do it by shifting Ghana away from fuel-generated power to solar-generated power.
“I want us to move away from fuel to solar. Solar is given to us by God for free, for free. If we have to buy fuel we need foreign exchange, and then we have to import it, but solar we can harness it and generate power.
“So I want us to bring in 2,000 megawatts in the first four years which is about half our consumption, 2,000 megawatts in the first four years and we can reduce the cost of power by at least 50%, if we move in this direction, and that is where I want us to focus on.
“I want us, when we move into solar, not just to be doing solar and be satisfied with it, I want Ghana to start manufacturing solar panels as well…” he added.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
