Members of Parliament from the Minority and Majority groups engaged in sharp exchanges on Thursday, February 19, over the delayed construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam during a debate on the killing of eight Ghanaian tomato traders by a terrorist group in Burkina Faso.

Some Majority MPs argued that if the dam had been completed on schedule, it could have boosted domestic agricultural production and reduced the need for Ghanaians to travel across the border, lowering security risks.

“Your former flagbearer, who is now your current flagbearer, went on  TV and said the best thing he has done in the north was the Pwalugu Dam. This dam was supposed to help us irrigate the lands. We spent US$12 million, and we do not have anything to show.

“If this dam had been built, we would have been able to grow our tomatoes up-north. Ghanaians wouldn’t have to go to Burkina Faso,” Samuel Atta-Mills, MP for Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem, told the Minority caucus.

Majority Leader and Bawku Central MP, Mahama Ayariga, added: “If the multipurpose dam had been constructed, the women wouldn’t be going to Burkina Faso. This is how you protect your citizens, irrigate the lands. When you take $12 million to do the irrigation for them, do the irrigation.”

The Minority caucus, however, rejected claims directly linking the tragedy to the stalled dam, describing them as politically motivated.

“If you create jobs in Pwalugu, it will help the poor in that part of the region. If you think anybody has chopped any money, prosecute the person. People have died under your watch. Go and create jobs at Pwalugu,” Minority Leader and MP for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, retorted.