Criticisms of Bui speech are "deliberate distortions"

Accra, Aug. 29, GNA - The Ministry of Information and National Orientation (MINO) said on Wednesday that it had learnt with shock and disquiet the "deliberate distortions and untruths" being peddled about the speech delivered by President John Agyekum Kufuor at the sod cutting ceremony of the Bui Dam on August 24, August 2007.

"For the avoidance of doubt, the Ministry wants to state categorically that the President did not seek to compare his achievements with that of the late

President Kwame Nkrumah, first president of Ghana, or belittle the accomplishments of the late president," it said in a statement signed by the Minister, Mrs Oboshie Sai Cofie.

"President Kufuor was stating a historical fact when he said that it took President Nkrumah 16 years to achieve his dream of building the Akosombo Dam," it added.

The Ministry said it was also a fact that it had taken President Kufuor's government six years to source funds for the Bui Hydro Electric project.

It said it could not also be denied that the potential for a hydro-energy generating plant at Bui had been known from the 1920s and that it had been Dr Nkrumah's dream since 1951 to build Akosombo, which he finally did before 1966.

"For anybody, or group of persons to misconstrue the narration of these historical facts as a slight of the achievements of the Dr Nkrumah could only be borne out of malice and mischief.

"President Kufuor had indeed, commended Dr Nkrumah, in an earlier paragraph when he said: 'During the First Republic, there was an understanding to build the Bui Dam as a sequel to the Akosombo and Kpong Dams. To his credit, Dr Nkrumah succeeded in building the Akosombo Dam, which till today, is an invaluable national asset.'"

The statement said Ghanaians must be aware that those who sought to impugn negative interpretation to the President's statement would be doing so for their own selfish and politically biased motives and should be ignored.

"As Ghanaians we should all be encouraged to focus on the good things that the Bui project brings to the country as part of the government's overall energy plan to triple energy supply capacity from the current 2,000 megawatts to 6,000 megawatts by 2015."

It said the project also sought to build a modern city at Bui, which was anticipated to be home to about one million people by the 2030s.

There was also an irrigation plan and a national park for flora and fauna with wide tourism potential.

About 2,900 Ghanaians would be employed directly and many indirect jobs would also be available.

"Our engineers, technicians and managers as well as both skilled and unskilled labour must take full advantage of the project. There should be the necessary technology transfer that will enable us to execute similar projects on our own in future," the statement said. It said an extensive environmental monitoring and mitigation plan had been incorporated in the design of the project to minimize possible harmful effects.

The Ministry said the studies indicated that about 2,000 people would need to be resettled. Government would ensure that compensatory plans for the affected people drew extensively on our experiences from the earlier re-settlements resulting from the Akosombo and Kpong hydro-electric projects.

"The benefits emanating from the Bui Project are enormous and together with the recent oil finds in the Western Region as well as the many opportunities opening up to the country should make all of us feel blessed as a people," the Ministry added. 29 Aug. 07