Tono dam rehabilitation started under Mahama, not Akufo-Addo - NDC counters Regional Minister

Upper East Regional Deputy Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress(NDC), Casper Kampoli, has accused the Upper East Regional Minister, Tangoba Abayage, of peddling falsehood over her claim that the Tono Irrigation Dam is being rehabilitated by the Akufo-Addo administration for the first time in forty years.

The Regional Minister had claimed in an interview with GHOne TV that rehabilitation works on the Tono Irrigation Dam are being undertaken by the government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) led by President Akufo-Addo.

But Mr Kampoli, a fierce critic of the Minister, has countered the claim, asserting that the NDC had secured funding for, and had started the rehabilitation of the Tono Irrigation Dam two years before the NPP assumed the reins of power.

“…The Renovation and Modernization of the Tono Irrigation Dam, which is still ongoing is a Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP) activity. The Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP) was launched in 2013 under John Dramani Mahama to move farming from the present subsistence level to a commercial level that will ensure wealth creation and food security in the country.

However, the Modernization and Rehabilitation of the irrigation facilities started in 2014…It started two years before Nana Addo became president,” he stated.

Work on the Tono Irrigation is currently ongoing. Available records show that the rehabilitation works began before the NPP took over the reins of Government.

But it is unclear the reasons for which the Upper East Regional Minister made the claim.

The NPP and NDC have had arguments over whether the government who secures funding or the one who executes a project should be given credit for completed or ongoing projects.