Over a thousand households have been displaced in the three Tongu districts in the Volta region as a result of the Akosombo and Kpong Dam spillage. It’s on record that the majority of the people affected by the spillage in the communities are cohabitating with families and friends.
There is also social support from the Christian community where church buildings are been used as a place for people to start a new life.
The Member of Parliament for South Tongu in the Volta region Hon. Kwabena Mensah Woyome discloses this on Adekyee Mu Nsem’s morning show on Ahotor FM 92.3 in Accra. He is of the view that a community like Sokpoe about 189 households has suffered under the destruction of the flood.
He opined that he can confidently say that, about 4,000 households in the three Tongu districts have been devastated by the spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong dam.
Reacting to the president’s visit to the affected communities, the MP for South Tongu said he is disappointed with the president. He said he was optimistic to see President Nana Akuffo Addo spell out an emergency relief policy statement to show the urgency of the catastrophe.
Recounting the destruction of the spillage he said investment of Ghanaians in the affected areas in the region can be in billions of Ghana cedies. Hotels, houses, fishing projects, and household items, have been lost due to the negligence on the part of the Volta River Authority (VRA) without adhering to their normal routine monitoring and checks from the Northern part of the country where the dam conserves water from as its source.
He reiterated that the negligence on the part of the VRA to discontinue the Volta Basin project on dredging and corresponding checks on climate change in updating the communities along the Volta was neglected.
Hon. Woyome said as a matter of urgency there is a need for the government to come out with a relief package from the Electricity Company of Ghana, to provide an emergency power system to the displaced person who now becomes a burden on other families and community members.
In addition, basic things such as drinking water, soap mattresses, and household essentials to help the affected people not to be exposed to any epidemic in the spillage destruction must be in constant supply from the government and philanthropists.
Parliamentary Candidate for Hohoe Central Efo Worlanyo Tsekpo, said he was expecting the president to show empathy with the affected communities in the Volta region, rather than use the engagement to score political points on votes. Saying people from the region do not vote for him, but then as a president, he is here to help all of them.
He further recounted unreserved comments from the president to some chiefs in the region, which he said was very unfortunate from the father of the nation, the election is over we are all in a crisis to serve the nation. He opined that governance is a serious business and after the election, we are all Ghanaians.
Projects such as Keta sea defense must continue and programs on safety must be intensified since the disaster is manmade and not a natural disaster.
Story by: AYM Kukah. E: mail. kukahalexander7@gmail.com
