V/R: Assemblies sidestepped in Petroleum funded projects – GACC

Most petroleum funded revenue projects in the District and Municipal Assemblies in Ghana are initiated without consultation or the involvement of the assemblies and residents of the areas involved.

This was disclosed by the Programmes Officer of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, Samuel Harrison-Cudjoe, following a pilot phase monitoring conducted in five district assemblies in the country.

Speaking at a 1-day stakeholders workshop held in Ho, Mr Cudjoe explained the motive of the pilot monitoring.

“So, our monitoring was to find out if the projects existed and if there are issues of accountability and transparency. And in all the places we have been to, we found that assemblies are sidestepped when it comes to these petroleum funded projects.

“From all the projects that we have monitored, the assemblies have no information on the petroleum funded projects in their areas. Some don't know anything about these projects at all. Again, there are no information on the contractors, and the amount of money allocated for the projects,” Mr Cudjoe noted.

“We realised this is so bad for the assemblies who are the representative of the president in their various localities. The assemblies have no information on the amount spent on the projects and who the money was paid to. Because you can't see any contract anywhere in the assemblies,” he further noted.

Mr Cudjoe indicates these issues raise concerns of transparency and accountability because they have not seen any information on these projects which are meant to benefit the citizens in these areas.

He said it makes it very difficult to know who received what, for what, and how much for instance was left to pay and also to know how much of the country's Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) keeps going into such projects across the nation.

The project; From Disclosure to Impact-Mobilising Local Civil Society to Verify Published Extractives Data and Advocate for Equitable, Accountable Spend of Funds was done by the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, Local Accountability Networks (LANets) and other partners from June 2022-May 2023 and has been extended to end of August 2023.

The monitoring exercise is meant to identify the effectiveness and efficiency of petroleum funded development projects.

The monitoring report which was pilot-phase was funded by the Africa Centre for Energy Policy and was conducted in the following; Sekondi-Takoradi Metro, Nzema East Municipality, Ho Municipality, Tamale Metro, and the NAsante Akim Central Municipality.

In the Volta Region, he said the team monitored projects including: Emergency works on the upgrading of Ho-Adidome and Adaklu-Helekpe- Abuadi road, Construction of Ho-Fume road, Upgrading of Sogakope-Adidome road, Asiekpe-Mafi Kumasir road and Sogakope Senior High School Access road, Upgrading of Akatsi-Ziope road and Construction of Ho-Nyive-Honuta-Kpedze road, Tokokoe-Ave-Shia and Nyive Atikpui roads.

In the Volta Region for instance, he said the names of the contractors could not be assessed and that the monitoring shows that such projects are mostly handed at the national or regional levels without so much involvement of the beneficiary District Assembly.

Mr. Cudjoe, stressed one of their key recommendations is that the citizens should show more interest, in how petroleum revenue is used.

[13:13, 25/07/2023] Manuel ClassFM: Expand Kpeve treatment plant to resolve water crisis in Ho

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has called on government and other stakeholders to take immediate steps to expand the Kpeve Treatment Plant to address the prevailing water crisis in Ho.

The Volta/Oti Regional Manager of PURC, Philip Agbezudor, stressed the pressing need for government’s intervention due to the rapidly increasing population in Ho, which has outstripped the available water supply.

Mr Agbezudor stated: "The current water crisis in Ho is primarily due to the fact that the population has grown beyond the capacity of the existing water supply. The only viable solution is to expand the Kpeve Treatment Plant, thereby increasing the volume of water available to Ho residents. Without this critical expansion, the suffering of the people in Ho, who currently receive water once every two weeks, ten days, or week, will persist."

The PURC has consistently recommended the expansion of the Kpeve Treatment Plant to the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and other relevant stakeholders. However, despite such recommendations and various initiatives by the GWCL, the necessary expansion has not yet been implemented.

Mr Agbezudor pointed out that the financial investment required for the expansion project may be substantial, making it crucial for the central government to demonstrate political will to address the water crisis effectively.

The Regional Manager of PURC was briefing the media on the mid-year report of the commission in the Volta and Oti regions on Monday, July 24, 2023.

The Kpeve Treatment Plant was established in the early 1990s; however, since its inception, there has been no significant expansion work to increase the water production capacity.

For several years, the Ghana Water Company Limited has been implementing water rationing measures to manage the water scarcity in the Ho municipality.

According to the 2021 Population Census, the population of Ho has reached 180,420, further intensifying the demand for an adequate and reliable water supply.

The mid-year report of the PURC revealed that a total of 511 complaints were received for the period between January and June 2023. Among these, 428 complaints were successfully resolved, reflecting an 83.76% resolution rate.

As part of its corporate social responsibility through the Pro Poor-Projects, the PURC has provided boreholes in various districts in the Volta and Oti regions, including North Tongu, Afadzato South, Akatsi South, Biakoye, Kpando, Agortime-Ziope, and South Dayi.

Additionally, the commission extended pipelines to Sogakope town and Ho-Kpenoe by 6.5km and 2.5km, respectively, to improve water accessibility in these areas.

Despite facing several challenges, including cable theft, influx of foreign meters in Ketu South, and power outages in Worawora and Abotoase, the PURC remains steadfast in its commitment to protect the interests of both utility service providers and consumers.

The establishment of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) in October 1997 under the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission Act, 1997 (Act 538) marked a significant step in the utility sector reform process initiated by the Government of Ghana to regulate electricity and water utility services.

Source: classfmonline.com