Franklin Cudjoe, founder and president of IMANI Africa, has raised questions about the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority’s (GIDA) expenditure of $12 million on the Pwalugu Multipurpose Irrigation Dam project.
Despite no visible progress at the project site, GIDA explained that the funds were used to pay the contractor, POWERCHINA, as a mobilization fee, as stipulated in the contract terms.
GIDA emphasized that the government bore no risk in approving this payment, as the contractor had delivered pre-construction documents and completed some physical work, including building a camp and access roads.
However, Franklin Cudjoe expressed skepticism, wondering why the contractor was paid $12 million when 30% of the project’s funding had not been secured.
In a social media post, Cudjoe questioned the logic behind disbursing $12 million without securing the necessary funding, highlighting that the project has yet to commence despite years of planning.
He also drew parallels with the Komenda Sugar Factory, which received millions of dollars in investment but remains non-operational after eight years.
