Bolgatanga: Isaac Adongo’s grinding mills are not grinding – Here’s why

When it came to light that the Honourable Member of Parliament(MP) for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo, had provided some fifteen grinding mills to some communities in his constituency, some persons sought to downplay the importance of grinding mills in the grand scheme of development. But the MP hit back, explaining that he had provided the grinding mills at the request of the people and underscored the importance of such an intervention in the lives of the beneficiaries.

He was spot on; affordable, easily accessible grinding mills can be a game-changer in these communities by ensuring that food preparation, which mainly involves grinding cereals and other foodstuffs, is much easier, less costly, and less time-consuming.

But weeks after the commissioning, news began to emerge that none of the community-owned grinding mills, housed in one-room buildings, is functioning fully and serving the purpose for which they were provided and installed.

Checks by MyNewsGh.com prove that in the Sumbrungu enclave where the commissioning was done, none of the four installed grinding mills is operating fully. The communities visited include Azorebisi, Amogrebisi, Akukam and Yebongo.

According to some community members, preparatory work which should have been concluded before the handover, including the persons to be in charge of the management of the project, how funds for electricity was to be acquired, among others, is delaying the operationalisation of the mills.

In the Akukam community, for instance, the person who has elected to take care of the project in the meantime noted that the community had to do some flooring work and acquire electricity before they could start using the machine.

In other communities, the mills were under lock and key and persons interviewed said they were unsure of what was happening but hopeful that they would be put to use soon.

The National Democratic Congress(NDC) Communication Officer for the Bolgatanga Central Constituency, Job Aboyom had earlier explained to Bolgatanga-based Dreamz FM that the MP had provided the mills and it was left to the community to put them to use and that delays were due to ongoing interactions by community members on how best to put the mills to use.

“It is not that he only provided the grinding mills and installed them. But he provided these grinding mills, built a structure, roofed the structure, painted it and connected it to electricity. When you go to Yorogo, my interactions with community members show that the community members are yet to meet to decide on how to operationalize it,” Mr Aboyom had said.

He went on to add that the grinding mill at Akukam was in operation.

” So, in most of the communities it is like that because the communities have to take charge. If you go to Akukam, that one has been operationalized and that is the issue in many of the communities.”

But when Mynewsgh visited the facility, the ‘caretaker’ said the mill was yet to be put to use.

It appears the MP may not have taken seriously how the grinding mills would be managed. But he has provided them and if the communities do not resolve issues regarding who will manage the facility, how it will be managed and how proceeds will be shared, the grinding mills may just become white elephants or the goat owned in common that dies of hunger because everyone else thinks the other will take care of it.

-mynewsgh