04/08/2026
KANKE DAM!
It is with great joy that the National Chairman mobilized the Minister of Water Resources to Kanke to inspect the proposed dam site.
However, as a people, we should not be too quick to forget that in 2015, the House of Representatives member representing Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam proposed for a construction of dam project in Kanke, which was agreed to be sited along the Dawaki–Myet Nemel axis because of the large water deposits in those areas.
Today, while we appreciate the development of the dam project, now being considered in Ampang, we must ask a serious question: can a dam in such rocky terrain be sustained and truly serve the people of Kanke and the neighboring LGAs?
The recent federal announcement says the proposed dam is meant to improve water supply, irrigation, electricity, and other benefits for Kanke and surrounding communities.
Why not consider a location that will serve the people for longer period of years than trying to prove a point that such project must be situated in Ampang.
During the Goodluck Jonathan administration, a report was reportedly submitted to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources for the expansion of Pankshin Dam into a larger reservoir that could serve Pankshin, Kanke, Kanam, and part of Langtang. Why not revisit that report and adopt it for reconsideration?
Dam project is meant to provide a wider water reticulation that should go beyond the LGA.
We need water in Kanke but sustainability should be considered and should remain the watchword.
Even if the Pankshin Dam cannot be expanded, the Dawaki, Nemel, Myet axis has more water deposits that could better sustain the people of Kanke than siting the project in Ampang.
