Chairman, Mepe Development Association, Fabian Mawulenu Kojo, has dismissed claims by energy minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, to the effect that a simulation exercise was conducted by the VRA prior to spillage of water from the Akosombo dam.
According to him, the association is appalled by the “poor” submission and several misrepresentations contained in the statement read by the Minister of Energy on the floor of Parliament.
He revealed that as the sector minister in charge of the Volta River Authority (VRA) that superintended over the poor management of the flood disaster, one would have expected him to apologize to the affected communities for his “failure to provide the needed oversight responsibility to effectively manage the pre and post spillage interventions”.
“The MDA calls on all to reject the claim by the minister that a simulation exercise was done by the VRA in Mepe with the participation of 57 people before the spillage. Granted that this claim is even true, what is that so-called simulation supposed to do for a community of over 16,000 people? Which stakeholders were engaged in that exercise, and how was that information disseminated?”
Fabian Mawulenu Kojo
Mr Mawulenu indicated that since the spillage by the Akosombo and Kpong Dams began, the energy minister had never visited any of the affected communities to assess the impact of the devastation of the flood disaster.
However, he noted that less than 24 hours before his appearance before parliament on 8th November 2023, Mr Prempeh rushed down to the North and Central Tongu District Assemblies in a “hurriedly arranged meeting for media optics” without adequate notice to key stakeholders.
The submerging of businesses and homes in Mepe by the spillage, Mr Mawulenu noted, started on 26th September 2023 and the Minister only visited some selected affected district assemblies 42 days after the disaster because he had to appear in parliament the next day.
Intervention by government in affected areas questioned
Furthermore, Mr Mawulenu questioned the provisions made to contain the “fallouts” of the flooding if the Minister and the VRA claim the simulation exercise was done to prepare the indigenes of Mepe ahead of the disaster for possible evacuation.
He explained that it took the swift intervention of the Mepe Development Association (MDA) with support of the Mepe Traditional Council (MTC) to arrange for the evacuation of the displaced persons to churches and classrooms.
“The Canoe Owners Association were engaged, at our own cost, to ferry the flood victims across all the 12 crossing units created by the flood. The truth is that no life was lost thankfully because a good number of our people are fishermen and good swimmers and were able to manoeuvre the flood waters and not because NADMO rescued a single person as the Minister claimed.”
Fabian Mawulenu Kojo
Moreover, the MDA chairman highlighted that a team from the Ghana Armed Forces only came on the ground with boats on 13th October to assist with the evacuation efforts, 17 days after the disaster struck. These boats, he revealed, are only stationed at one crossing point when they have not less than twelve.
Additionally, Mr Mawulenu noted that a ministerial task force committee was also set up by the President on 13th October 2023 in response to the disaster, which is a “clear indication that there were no inter-ministerial engagements prior to the spillage”.
To this, he emphasized that the MDA had to mobilize for relief items for the displaced persons continuously for over three weeks since the disaster without any state support.
“Not even a single bag of sachet water, mobile toilet, mosquito net, a grain of rice, mattress, temporary structures nor basic necessities of life to stay afloat were provided by the state through its agencies during those difficult moments. It had to take a media call out of the state’s neglect before the VRA provided six mobile toilets to the over 1,300 displaced persons camped in one of the so-called safe havens at St. Kizito on 20th October 2023.”
Fabian Mawulenu Kojo
Meanwhile, Mr Mawulenu indicated that has been over 27 days since the formation of the inter-ministerial task force committee by the President. With this, he quizzed the relevance of the committee so far to the displaced persons and the many others that have lost their livelihoods as a result of the VRA-induced flood disaster.
“The MDA expects the inter-ministerial committee and its relevant agencies such as the VRA, NADMO, Water Resources Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, among others, to properly engage key stakeholders in the affected communities in finding short, medium and long-term solutions to the flood disaster. We will not countenance the continuous misinformation and disinformation by the state and its appointed representatives about the true situation on the ground.”
Fabian Mawulenu Kojo
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