Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has apologized to Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo Markin over an argument that ensued between them in Parliament on Friday, November 12, 2021.

According to him, it is of a necessity to render an apology to Alexander Markin over the incident as he is the Deputy Majority Leader in the House. He however, criticized the legislator for Nhyiaeso, Stephen Amoah, over his approach to the situation.

“He is my leader in Parliament. Even if he said anything and I thought that it was not correct, I needed not to exchange words with him. On that note, I apologize to him… The manner in which the MP for Nhyiaeso, Stephen Amoah, attacked me and Emmanuel Kofi Buah is most irregular. There is a disaster. All we want is some comfort for our people in Anlo and a long-standing solution to the problem”.
Mr Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor

During a press conference, the Majority Caucus in Parliament on the issue of tidal waves, shared a photo which showed the devastated communities in the Volta Region and as such nearly led to a fight between the two sides.

Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo Markin showed a photo of scenes from the disaster caused by the tidal waves to the press. However, former Energy Minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah and South Dayi MP, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor started heckling him.

Per sentiments from the duo, this led Mr. Afenyo Markin to start misinforming the media with the picture and that led to an altercation. The altercation lasted towards the end of the presser when the Bole Bamboi MP, Yusif Sulemana snatch the image from Afenyo Markin and handed it over to Dafeamekpor.

Following this, the Nhyieaso MP, Stephen Amoah approached Mr Dafeamekpor to repossess the image, a move that complicated the matter.

Sand winning is not the cause of tidal wave

Earlier in the presser the majority caucus suggested that sand winning is the cause of the tidal devastation. However, Mr Dafeamekpor has debunked assertions by the Majority in Parliament over the destructive tidal waves that hit the shores of Keta and surrounding communities as one caused by sand mining activities in the area.

Mr Dafeamekpor described the move as insensitive, particularly for an individual to attribute the tidal waves devastations to sand mining by indigenes. He explained that such remarks and suggestions were false and as such expressed his disappointment in the Majority’s attempt to sell such a story to the public.

“How do you attribute the massive destruction by tidal waves to only sand winning? When you do so, then you’re being simplistic with the problem. The causative factors of this problem cannot be due to sand winning”.

In contributing to the conversation on tidal waves, a Director at the Institute of Environment and Sanitation, Professor Kwasi Appeanin Addo, opined that the issue of tidal waves is not influenced by sand winning. He indicated that, sand at the beach serves as a buffer in case of any surge in the level of the seawater.

Professor Appeanin Addo explained that when the sand is scraped off, there’s the tendency for a surge in water level to extend beyond the boundaries of the sea. This, he noted, causes sand winning to deepen the impact of a tidal wave, highlighting that sand winning cannot be implicated as one of the causes of tidal waves.

“Let me say that sand winning is not [a cause] of storm surge. But then sand winning activities can result in an increase in the impact of the surge”.
Professor Kwasi Appeanin Addo

Currently, government and other support organizations have visited the affected victims, with some relief interventions to alleviate the impact of the disaster.