Member of Parliament for Ada West, Christian Otuteye, has intimated that efforts are underway to ensure the safety of the displaced residents in the Ada West Municipality after being hit by a tidal wave on Sunday, April 3, 2022.
According to the Member of Parliament, he is collating the number of displaced persons to later liaise with NADMO on the next course of action. He revealed that the number of displaced inhabitants are not stable as such all of them have to be captured first.
Christian Otuteye revealed that this isn’t the first time the township has been hit by such waves. He disclosed that efforts to get help from government has been futile as no move has been made to construct the sea defense along the coastal line.
“It is a perennial issue that I have spoken about severally in Parliament. So, this is not the first time. Almost every year, once or twice, it occurs. It’s not only [in] Sege here, when you go to Ketu South, it’s there.”
Christian Otuteye
According to the Ada West MP, the waves wouldn’t have been a problem but due to the refusal of the current government to continue with the sea defense project by the NDC, the area is facing challenges. He revealed that the current government has rather selected townships to continue the sea defense project leaving some other towns affected by these waves all the time.
“President Mahama started the sea defense project from Ada East which the aim was to continue through Ada West through to Tema. He started but unfortunately, by 2016 he left power so his plan to continue immediately in 2017 couldn’t materialize. So, we took it to the new government who had to continue but to our surprise, the government jumped over Ada West and went to Ningo Prampam.”
Christian Otuteye
Christian Otuteye disclosed that after numerous efforts and visits by some government officials, they have blamed their inability to continue the project on the lack of funds to continue the project. He averred that the responsible authorities have done the studies and know how much to spend, so he is much surprised that till now, they haven’t done anything.
The Ada West MP expressed concern about the effects of the wave and how he is powerless in getting the construction works done. “Unfortunately, you and I know that this is a project no MP can do, a project no DCE will do. It’s only the government of Ghana.”
Christian Otuteye urged government to immediately consider continuing the sea defense project to mitigate the impact of these hits. He further admonished government to consider saving the lives of the people along the coastline.
Tidal waves can hit again
Meanwhile, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Ketu South, Maxwell Lugudor, commenting on the tidal waves has warned that it could resurface soon. Mr. Lugudor explained that the sea is very high hence residents must vacate their homes immediately.
“It started Sunday. It’s a little bit higher but not like last year and it could happen again because looking at the sea level, it’s very high.”
MCE for Ketu South, Maxwell Lugudor
Touching on why the promise by the government to construct sea defense in the coastal areas has not been done, he averred that the project is above him as the MCE but they are ensuring inhabitants get resettled immediately. “We are ensuring that we save lives and property”.
This new hit comes barely four months after hundreds were left stranded in some coastal communities in the year 2021.
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