|
Ministry says criticisms of Bui speech
are "deliberate distortions"
Accra, Aug. 29, Ghanadot/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.
GNA
|
