One village, one dam is viable — WRI
The Surface Water Division of the Water Research Institute (WRI) has identified various strategies to make President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s campaign promise of building one dam in every farming village in all the three northern regions a reality.
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President Nana Akufo-Addo, then presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), had promised, during his campaign tour, to provide every village in the Savanna area with a dam.
The new Director of the WRI, Dr Osmund Duodu Ansa-Asare, said “the one village, one dam promise is a reality; it is achievable and we, as an institution, are ready to lead in its fulfilment”.
Dr Ansa-Asare was speaking to journalists shortly after he had been introduced to workers of the WRI as the new Director.
The WRI is one of the 13 institutes of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
He explained that the public should not only focus on the use of river bodies for the creation of the dams in the villages, saying “there are other sources of water that can be used”.
Some of the alternative water resources, according to him, could be the harvesting of rain water.
The WRI, he said, played a pivotal role in accessing scientific and technical resources that were relevant to the water management needs of the nation.
Vision
Earlier, Dr Ansa-Asare, who took the workers through his vision for the WRI, had said he intended to transform the institute during his tenure of office.
“It is my vision to improve research and development, improve administration, spearhead commercialisation of research and the services of the institute and ensure retention of quality staff,” he said.
He appealed to the members of staff to cooperate and support him to achieve the vision.
“I'm thankful for the leadership of the former Director, Dr Joseph Addo-Ampofo, and I am grateful that he will now guide the WRI in its mission,” he said, after expressing his appreciation to the management and board of the CSIR for their support.
Discipline
The Director General of the CSIR, Dr Victor Agyapong, before introducing Dr Ansa-Asare, had urged the workers of the WRI to be disciplined and change their attitude to work.
“You must respect the office of the director. He is the de facto owner of the institute and the government is the owner. He has the right to hire and fire. Take opportunity of the change and change the system,” he said.
Scientists to lead
For his part, the Board Chairman of the WRI, Dr Peter Amponsah Mensah, urged the workers, especially the heads of the various departments, to be well versed in the laws governing the operations of the CSIR to enable them to contribute to the attainment of the goals of the new director.
“Come together and work as a team to assist him to turn the place around,” he said.
Profile
Dr Ansa-Asare is a chief research scientist with 25 years’ experience in research and development in water resources management.
Until his appointment, he was involved in the organising, directing and coordinating of various activities as the Deputy Director of the CSIR-WRI.
He holds a PhD in Environment Analytical Chemistry from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and a degree in Chemistry from the University of Cape Coast.