The former President and leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has suggested that dredging of the Volta Estuary is necessary as to keep the Akosombo dam safe from collapse while saving lives and properties in Tongu districts.
His proposal was made when the former President visited residents in the district who have been impacted seriously by the spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong Dams.
According to the former president, this will allow the free flow of water and prevent the waters from breaching their banks.
“The VRA is spilling lots of water but this seems to be a bit heavier than what we are used to. But it is also good to dredge because if you dredge the extra volumes of water can move faster. For instance, under the bridge, several parts are silted. If all that part has been cleared, it will be easier for the water to flow through so it doesn’t back up into people’s houses.”
John Dramani Mahama
He further indicated that he has and will continue to provide relief items to the people in collaboration with the Members of parliament in the district and beyond.
“I have supplied some relief items to the MPs and I have been discussing with the MPs. They have done some thing but they intend to do more. We are providing a lot of relief items.”
John Dramani Mahama
He further indicated that it will be very important that the Volta River Authority will join in providing some relief items to the affected residents.
Meanwhile, the deputy chief executive of the Volta River Authority has informed the residents that there will be more spillage for at least a week. He thus urged residents and all stakeholders to help with the rescue mission since the dam may be destroyed if the spillage is halted.
“We are hoping that it will end very soon. Around this time of the year, we get heavy inflows but the reason this time is that we are getting excessive inflows. That is the reason why we have to spill lots of water to save the dam. We expect that very soon, we will be able to control the spillage.”
Ken Arthur
Residents To Endure
While many Tongu District residents hoped this menace would soon come to an end, their hopes were crushed at the announcement of the deputy chief executive of the Volta River Authority.
His announcement meant that residents had to brace up for a week more of floods. The building has not collapsed. Areas that have not been affected yet may be impacted as well.
This further justifies calls that have been made by some residents for some form of compensation to rebuild their lives.
The silver lining in the very unfortunate happenings in the Tongu district is that no lives have been lost so far. That must be sustained. Beyond that, as residents endure another week of the floods, stakeholders will have to also consider averting the health risks that the situation poses to residents.
The dredging of the Volta estuary is also a commendable suggestion that must be given due attention by the Volta River authority.
The government has a significant role; in protecting all lives and property. This is no exception.
The government has thus formed an inter-ministerial team to coordinate the response to the dam spillage-induced flooding of the Tongu districts.
The members of the inter-ministerial committee include the Chief of Staff (Chair), Minster of Hence Albert Kan-Dapaah, Ambrose Derry, Dominic Nitiwul, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Ken Ofori-Atta, Dan Kweku Botwe, Francis Asenso-Boakye, Kwaku Afriyie, Freda Prempeh, Samuel Jinapor, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah with Akosua Frema Osei-Opare.
Most of these ministers are members of the cabinet. It is thus a commendable show of the government’s commitment to salvaging the unfortunate incident.
READ ALSO: Government Forms An Inter-Ministerial Team To Coordinate Response To Tongu Flooding
