Two hundred 200 dams have been completed under the One Village-One Dam project, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has told Parliament on Wednesday 13 November 2019 when he presented the 2020 budget and fiscal statement, adding: “An additional 360 are dams under construction”.
The 1V1D promise was made by Nana Akufo-Addo during the 2016 campaign.
The dams are meant to ensure all-year round water supply for farmers in the regions up north.
Apart from the dams, the Finance Minister also said the President “has redeemed virtually all the pledges he made to the people of Ghana”.
Explaining further, he said: “Mr Speaker, the numbers, indeed, don’t lie and I have some numbers that make interesting reading: 1.2 million Ghanaian students would have had access to secondary education by 2020, justifying the spending of GhS2.2billion. It is gratifying to note that the first cohort of students under the programme numbering about 362,000 are due to graduate in 2020. 1.9 million people have directly benefited from the Planting for Food and Job programme; 97,373 graduates have been given an opportunity under NaBCo to better position them for future jobs; 83,000 Ghanaians have been recruited under the Forest Plantation Programme to help restore our environment”.
He continued: “A further 138,026 Ghanaians have been recruited under various programmes to support public sector delivery; 55,000 nurses have been recruited to enhance healthcare delivery; 3.6 million Ghanaians have been registered under the national ID programmes; 1,000 sanitary facilities are under construction to address open defecation; 49,000 trainee nurses have been paid Gh¢468 million in allowances; 48,000 teacher trainees have also been paid Ghc532 million in allowances”.
Additionally, the Finance Minister said: “Mr Speaker, to support Industry and Entrepreneurship; 181 companies have benefited from support under the 1D1F programme; 12,000 start-up businesses have received training support under the Government Entrepreneurship Programme; 80 business incubation hubs have been set up across the country to build the capacity of entrepreneurs; 20,000 students have been trained under the Student Entrepreneurship Initiative; 100 disabled women have been empowered to start businesses; and Dagbon is finally at peace!”
Also, he noted, “Mr Speaker, in fulfilment of our promise, IPEP has delivered the following: 307 Ambulances have been procured for distribution to each constituency and all regional and teaching hospitals to enhance healthcare; 50 prefabricated grain warehouses have been constructed to reduce post-harvest losses; and 50 rural markets are under construction to enhance trade within our local assemblies”.
