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Bagre Dam In Burkina Faso
Would Not Be Spilled Now - Agric Minister
From Hannah Tapang, GNA Special Correspondent Bagre,
Burkina Faso
Bagre (Burkina Faso), July 14 Ghanadot/GNA - The Bagre Dam on the
White Volta in Burkina Faso would not be spilled until heavy
rains set in by August or the beginning of September, Mr
Issaka Maiga, Burkinabe Minister of Agriculture, said at the
weekend.
He explained that the Dam in the Central East Province of
Burkina Faso has been renovated and expanded to enable it to
retain more water and to prevent frequent spilling that had
for the past few years led to floods in the Upper East and
Northern Regions of Ghana.
Mr Maiga was speaking when he jointly inaugurated the
rehabilitated Dam with the French Ambassador to Burkina
Faso, Mr Francois Goldblatt at Bagre.
The Dam irrigates 30,000 hectares of farmland and generates
electricity.
The height of the dam was increased by 1.5 metres and
renovations done to strengthen its banks at a cost of 18
million dollars provided by the French Aid for International
Development.
Mr Maiga said irrigation farming had engaged most of the
populace in the area and was giving young people meaningful
employment and thus keeping them off the streets.
He explained that the Dam, built in 1994 had been renovated
earlier at the cost of 33 million dollars but further works
needed to be done to increase its capacity and to limit the
frequency of spilling that was having adverse effect on
Ghana.
Animal husbandry is an important industry in Burkina Faso
and the cultivation of various crops besides the main
tropical staples do well under irrigation. Burkina Faso
exports various fruits and foods including strawberry,
mango, citrus, vegetables and French potatoes.
Mr Goldblatt said his Country took special interest in the
Dam because of its contribution to agriculture, electricity
generation and the great potential it had to promote
development in that Country.
The Bagre Dam at present provides 10 per cent of that
Country's electricity needs, Mr Siengui Apollinaire,
Director of Generation and Transmission of the Electricity
Company of Burkina Faso, said.
Mr Alhassan Samari, Upper East Regional Minister, who led
the Ghanaian delegation to the ceremony, noted that even
though the Dam was in Burkina Faso, it was very important to
Ghana as it was built on the Volta River, which ran through
Ghana.
"The Volta River especially the White Volta is like blood
coursing through the veins of the bodies of our two
countries, Ghana and Burkina Faso. A person with
insufficient or bad blood is but a few steps away from the
grave. In the same way the waters of this river are so vital
to the economies and prosperity of the people of our two
Countries and Regions that we must do all we can to ensure
sufficient and clean water at all times, the things that
sustain our lives should not be toyed with or taken for
granted", he said.
He told the people of Burkina Faso that Ghana appreciated
the good care they were taking of the Dam and the River as
it served both Countries since the benefits would trickle
down to the Upper East Region of Ghana.
"My strong conviction is that from our previous experiences
and what we are witnessing today, we in the two countries
shall continue to reap the benefits of the White Volta for
many generations", he noted.
Ghana and Burkina Faso have formed a Trans-Boundary
Committee and signed a joint agreement on the creation,
composition, responsibility and cooperation for the
effective management of the resources of the White Volta
Basin.
GNA.
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