By Ishmael Junourgh 
The Tamale–Damongo Water Supply Project is set to enter its third phase of stakeholder engagement, with a series of community consultations and Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) activities scheduled to take place across communities along the project corridor from September 8 to 19, 2026.
The engagement forms part of efforts to ensure that communities likely to be affected by the water supply project are adequately informed, consulted and given the opportunity to contribute to decisions concerning land, property, livelihoods and other potential impacts associated with the development.
According to the Media Liaison Department of the Damongo Water Supply Project, the exercise is intended to strengthen meaningful community participation, transparency and the identification of Project Affected Persons (PAPs).
The project is expected to involve infrastructure and related activities extending across the Tamale, Damongo, Busunu and Yapei areas, making community participation particularly important to the project’s social and developmental outcomes.
Communities at the centre of the process
The third phase will begin on September 8 with stakeholder engagement in the Tamale Metropolitan area and Sagnarigu, involving the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Assembly Members and other relevant stakeholders.
The following day, September 9, the engagement will move to Damongo, where the project team will meet the Gonja West Municipal Assembly and Assembly Members at the Assembly level.
Community-level consultations in the Tamale Metropolitan area will follow on September 10 and 11. The engagements will include community meetings, focus group discussions and radio discussions designed to provide residents with information about the project and allow them to raise concerns and provide feedback.
The Damongo area will receive similar engagements on September 12 and 13, while Busunu and Yapei communities are scheduled for engagements on September 14 and 15 respectively.
The inclusion of women and youth groups in the Yapei engagement is particularly significant, as these groups often have distinct interests and livelihood concerns that need to be reflected in major infrastructure development projects.
Surveys to identify affected persons
Beyond public consultations, the project team will conduct site reconnaissance surveys along key sections of the project corridor.
On September 16, a comprehensive survey will be conducted along the Damongo–Busunu–Yapei route to identify environmental and social concerns as well as potential Project Affected Persons.
A similar exercise will take place along the Yapei–Tamale transmission route on September 17, followed by surveys of the Tamale distribution network on September 18 and 19.
These surveys are important because major water infrastructure projects can affect land use, farms, properties, businesses and other livelihood activities. Accurate identification of affected persons and assets is therefore essential to ensuring that the social consequences of development are properly addressed.
October 1 cut-off date
The project has also announced October 1, 2026, as the cut-off date for eligibility as a Project Affected Person.
Residents, landowners, property owners, farmers and other stakeholders within project-affected areas have consequently been urged to participate actively in the scheduled engagements and provide accurate information to the project team.
They have also been encouraged to cooperate with survey and assessment teams and make themselves available when project officials visit their communities and properties.
The cut-off date is particularly important because it establishes the point beyond which new developments or claims within the affected areas may not qualify for consideration under the project’s assessment and resettlement process, subject to the applicable project procedures.
Development must go hand in hand with community interests
The third phase of stakeholder engagement highlights an important principle in infrastructure development: projects intended to improve public services must also take into account the people and communities through which those projects pass.
For the Tamale–Damongo Water Supply Project, effective engagement can help reduce misunderstandings, improve access to reliable information and enable community concerns to be incorporated into the planning and implementation process.
It can also provide an opportunity for traditional authorities, local government representatives, farmers, landowners, women, youth and other residents to understand the project’s implications and seek clarification on issues affecting their livelihoods.
The project authorities have therefore stressed that cooperation and participation from affected communities are essential to ensuring that the project is implemented in a fair, transparent and socially responsible manner.
As Ghana continues to invest in water infrastructure to respond to growing demand and development needs, ensuring that communities are active participants rather than passive recipients of major projects will remain critical to achieving sustainable development outcomes. The third stakeholder engagement is expected to provide an important platform for strengthening that relationship between the project, local authorities and communities along the Tamale–Damongo water supply corridor.