Tongraan Kulgbilsung Nalebegtang
Paramount Chief of the Talensi Traditional Area
in the Upper East Region of Ghana, Tongraan Kulgbilsung Nalebegtang, has added
his voice to the Pwalugu Multi-purpose dam debate, calling on the NDC Minority
to tread cautiously and also consider the interest of the country and people
living in the north.
Tongraan Kulgbilsung Nalebegtang, who is a
member of the Council of State representing the Upper East Region, is hopeful
that the construction of the dam would to some extent address the perennial
flooding, destruction of farmlands and the flood-related deaths.
For him, the Pwalugu dam is a single project
that will facilitate a significant transformation in the beneficiary
communities and regions and commended government to committing itself to ensure
that the very important project is done.
“In recent times, we have heard of some Members
of Parliament expressing concerns about the project. I am appealing to them to
tread cautiously so as not to cause the stalling of the project for the second
time, since it stands to benefit farmers in both the Upper East Region and the
North East Regions, as well as generate electricity into the national grid for
the benefit of the entire nation,” the chief said during Tengmaalug Laong
Festival at Tongo in the Upper East Region.
He said “the dam has three components: hydro-electric,
solar and irrigation. We must all, therefore, keep that in mind our
pronouncement about the cost of the project… no two dams of equal outputs
situated at different places will cost the same, because the topography of the
sites play a major role in the total cost.”
The prominent chief commended the government
for the many developmental projects the Talensi District is benefiting from in
the area of education, health and human resource capacity building.
In recent times, there have been suggestions
that the airport in the Upper East should be relocated to Navrongo, others want
more studies done on the Sirigu site to host the airport while another group
insists that the current proposed site at Sumbrungu should be maintained.
But in all these, Tongraan Kulgbilsung
Nalebegtang believes that having the airport in a community under regional
capital – Bolgatanga – will be ideal, just as other regions have their airports
in their regional capital.
The festival ushers the people of the Talensi
Traditional Area into the planting/farming season.
It is marked by a durbar of chiefs and Tindanas
(traditional landlords), queen mothers and son and daughters of the area.
The durbar was graced by some members of the
Council of State, board members of the Tema Oil Refinery Board, the Upper East
Regional Minister, the Talensi DCE and members of political parties, as well as
the leadership of Fulanis in Ghana.
FROM: Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Tongo