The Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPRA) has petitioned the Auditor-General and Speaker of Parliament, demanding an audit to be conducted on the small earth dams constructed under the government’s 1 Village 1 Dam initiative and the Pwalugu Multi-Purpose project.
In separate petitions to the two heads sighted by Dreamz News, the Civil Society Organization said it is disappointed with the implementation of the projects meant to drive the socio-economic transformation of communities in the 5 regions of the North.
It stated that it had anticipated that the Audit Service would conduct a value for money audit on the projects as was indicated in the 2018 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government.
“However, we have since not sighted any audit report from your Service on these 1V1D projects,” the petition to the A-G said.
The NOPRA said its assessment of the projects reveal they are not fit for purpose and that they cost more than double the budgeted amount of 250,000.
It also complained to the Speaker about the failure of the Special Development Initiative Secretariat and the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to furnish it with information it had sought through an RTI request.
While demanding that the A-G conduct an audit on the projects, it is beseeching the Speaker to intercede in its quest for accountability from government and the relevant stakeholders.
It specifically wants the Speaker’s intervention to:
1. Call for value for money audit and transparency and accountability of the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) of the country’s oil money you approved for these 1V1D projects.
2. Summon the Special Development Initiative Secretariat and the Northern Development Authority (NDA) to appear before Parliament to respond to questions on 1V1D expenditure and performance.
3. Embark on parliamentary field trip to 1V1D project sites in some of the communities where the dams are said to be 100% complete to acquaint yourself with the realities on the ground.
NOPRA is also asking the Speaker to demand answers on the close to US$12 million paid for what it believes is no work done on the Pwalugu Multi-Purpose Dam project.
“Finally, Mr. Speaker, our attention has also been drawn to a recent revelation regarding the payment of US$11 million on account of works executed on the purported Pwalugu Multi-purpose Dam”.
It continued, “We the citizens in the area have not seen any sign of development on the site. We therefore wish to equally implore you to demand explanations from the Executive on the expenditure of the said US$11 million on the Pwalugu Multi-purpose Dam”.
