Water Resources Reports
The Minister of Water Resources, Sarah Reng Ochekpe has assured the communities around the Kashimbila buffer dam of adequate compensation for their land before the completion of the project.
The Minister gave the assurance to the community lately while inspecting the dam site in Kashimbila,Takum Local Government on the fringe of the Cameroun border; indicating that the Kashimbila buffer dam is purposed to mitigate the disaster which may occur to Nigerians as a result of break out from Lake Nyos in Cameroun.
Sarah Ochekpe expressed appreciation to the communities for their support through permission for use of their land, adding that their support to the Kashimbila Dam Project is commendable. She however, explained that the construction of the dam would not only benefit the Federal Government but also the communities around the dam.
“We are doing this for the progress of Nigeria as well as the communities, since if nothing is done and the environmental hazards of Lake Nyos come, the first victims would be the communities”, she explained. She further said that before Nigerians in other parts of the country benefit from the economic activities of the dam, the immediate communities should benefit.
“In the construction of projects like these, there are compensations to be paid to communities and these can be done when proper enumeration is taken determine those affected, what is involved and the value of the involvement. So far, the Ministry has been able to enumerate a total of twenty one communities and over N260 million has been paid as compensation. For the remaining communities, the process of enumeration will commence and will be paid as soon as enumeration is completed,” she pointed.
The Minister explained that the development of the irrigation component of the project would take place after the water has been impounded. She also noted that the hydro power is in progress, whilst the contractors are in the process of providing potable water to the community. She observed that the pipe laying work has been linked up to Takum Local Government where the treatment plant would be built.
Ochekpe appealed to the communities to exercise patience as government would provide all the facilities required and nothing would be left undone.
In his remarks, the Supervising Minister of Environment, Darius Ishaku, an indegene of the community expressed gratitude to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for constructing the dam. “We are indeed grateful for the work done. Before this administration, the work was very slow, but immediately the present administration assumed authority, the work commenced in earnest,” he stated.
He commended the contractors and urged them to sustain the good work, inviting them to assimilate the communities into the project activities.
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