Barely one month after President J.A. Kufuor cut the sod for the construction of the Bui dam, a massive disinfestations exercise of the area began at the site on Saturday. The exercise is aimed at destroying the black flies prevalent in the area and which causes blindness in humans (Onchocerciasis). They also cause severe wrinkling and dipigmentation of the skin of affected persons. People suffering from the disease usually have nodules in different parts of their bodies. The disinfestation exercise known as the Zoomlion/Oncho control programme will reduce and eventually eliminate the flies, thereby improving environment for the inhabitants and workers engaged in the construction of the dam and the Bui City project. Zoomlion Limited, contractors for the exercise has employed 500 youth who will spray breeding sites of the flies, located along the banks of the White Volta and in the Bui National Park. However, a cross section of inhabitants in an interview expressed reservations about the mode of the exercise explaining that many breeding sites are inaccessible especially in the rainy season, which demands that a helicopter should also be used in the exercise. The cost of the exercise which will last for six months, is unknown as the Ministry of Finance and the contractor have declined to disclose the amount involved. Launching the programme at Banda Bundanse at the weekend, Prof. George Gyan-Baffour, Deputy Minister for Finance said it was a public-private collaboration between the ministry and the National Onchocerciasis Secretariat. He said that the exercise was necessary due to the rigid time frame needed to complete the dam which will ensure a stabilisation of the current power rationing. As the black flies breed in fast flowing rivers it was expected that on completion of the construction of the dam most of the present breeding areas will be flooded, as water flowing downstream will stop, thus reducing the breeding and its attendant nuisance. Prof. Gyan Baffour said the government was aware that the project will exacerbate water related parasitic infections and create social vices that could promote sexually transmitted diseases as well as occupational hazards. The government has therefore put in place a system to facilitate all relevant agencies and stakeholders to play their roles to mitigate any perceived adverse consequences Source: The Ghanaian Times