MP�s Action Causes NGO To Stop Project

Work on a borehole project for the Buem traditional area in the Volta Region has been suspended in protest against the Member of Parliament for the area, Daniel Kwesi Ashiamah. The project was being executed by the Tree of Life Foundation, a subsidiary of the Portable Practical Educational Preparation (PPEP), an American non-governmental organisation (NGO). Mr. Ashiamah is presently drilling a borehole for his private water factory, an action that triggered the suspension decision. Located at New Baika, the water factory threatens the existing village boreholes repaired by the NGO and according to residents of the area, the water table would drop and render the boreholes useless. A statement issued on Tuesday by the president of PPEP, Gertha Brown-Hurd, said: �The MP is using his position to exploit the village water, commercially, for his own profit.� When The Ghanaian Times visited there early this month, work on the MP�s private water project was progressing steadily amid fears by residents that �our boreholes may soon dry up just because of one man�s selfish interested.� �It�s so sad that there is nobody to speak for us the poor and the underprivileged in this area. What nobody is talking about is that when the boreholes dry up, we may be forced to draw water from the contaminated river with all its health implication,� a 57-year-old woman, Serwaa Amable, cried out to The Ghanaian Times during the visit. The Tree of Life Foundation was working on 54 spoiled boreholes in 28 Bueman communities. The MP has refused to comment on the issue when reached yesterday. After weeks of painstaking investigations, The Ghanaian Times reported on August 24, 2015 that tension was mounting in Buem following an alleged misappropriation of a 35,000 dollar Buem Micro-Credit and Co-operative Society (BMCCS) loan scheme by a sub-chief of the area, Nana Otimpong Otibribi III, and Mr. Ashiamah , for projects in the Buem community. The Ghanaian Times had revealed that the MP, who was the chairman of the Board of Directors and president of the fund, and Nana Otibribi, initiator of the scheme, failed to account for more than 35,000 dollars required of them by PPEP for the past two years. PPEP, has, since January 2011, undertaken a number of projects including renovation of school blocks, Girls� Education Awareness, Girls Empowerment Education, Diabetes Prevention Education, drilling and renovation of boreholes, sports, school-feeding, and prevention of deforestation in the Buem traditional area.