Akosombo Dam spillage: We are disappointed in government - Mepe Development Association

The Mepe Development Association (MDA) has expressed its disappointment in the Government of Ghana and President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo following the loud silence on the plight of victims of the Akosombo Dam flood disaster in the 2024 State of the Nation Address.

The MDA considers the president’s conduct as the highest form of insensitivity and dereliction of duty of care towards the over 40,000 displaced persons under a state created disaster of such devas- tating magnitude which have sunk many affected persons further down the poverty ladder.

The MDA notes with regret that four long months after promises by the State and its agencies, the people of the Mepe Traditional Area, by extension the affected Lower Volta communities, have been neglected by the state to fend for themselves. Many have since died due to the shocks and the after- math of the disaster. Thousands are still left traumatized and several thousand left homeless.

The inter-ministerial committee chaired by the Chief of Staff is stillborn; members of the committee have not paid a single familiarization visit to the affected communities to assess the impact of the disaster and engage with traditional and community leaders on the way forward.

For the benevolence of well-meaning Ghanaians, corporate bodies, NGOs, groups, churches, indi- genes of Mepe both home and abroad, among others, who continue to send their relief support our way, the situation would have been hellish. Currently, donor fatigue has set in and the displaced persons are on their own without any state support. As a result, the MDA is forced to spend its meagre resources to salvage the situation.

We do not have to state it again that the occurrence of the disaster and the subsequent neglect of the State is a structural violence perpetuated by the State against the people of the Lower Volta. The State has forgotten the fact that its social contract with the people, includes the necessity for citizens in the area to have access to decent housing, access to education for children in the area, adequate food for the affected and affordable health care for the afflicted. After six months since the disaster struck, we are shocked to know that despite the media optics and the staged visits to the Mepe Tradi- tional Area by State officials, there is no plan in place for post-flood recovery.

The State had no plans to relocate displaced persons from the seven schools used as havens by the MDA and the traditional authority, including the famous St. Kizito Senior Technical School. No plans to restart schools to ensure the education of children in the Mepe Traditional Area is not disrupted. It took the efforts of the MDA and the Traditional Council to relocate over 400 displaced persons to Mepe-Degorme JHS (renovated at a huge cost) and other facilities provid- ed by an indigene to pave way for the reopening of schools in the traditional area.

The Minster of Education, Dr. Yaw Adutwum (MP) was nowhere to be found in all of the reloca- tion efforts after several appeals made to him to provide support. The Minister will, without any respect and recourse to Traditional Authority and MDA, later lead a delegation of the USA ambassador and other dignitaries to visit the Mepe-Degorme havens. This is very provoking.

As for the Deputy Director-General of NADMO, Mr. Seji Saji and his boss, their role in the disaster management did not match their big offices. Shambolic. We cannot recount anymore here. The Volta Regional Minister, NADMO and the North Tongu District Assembly are yet to engage the MDA and the traditional authority to formally handover the management of the Mepe- Degorme havens since the displaced persons were evacuated there on 11th December,2023. Some of our people are still living under very deplorable conditions and sleeping under tents like refugees in their own country under the mercy of the elements.

In our moment of distress, huge sums of funds have been announced in our name for disaster recovery. However, the communities have not received support that tally with the amounts that have been stated. Here are those that have come to our notice:

1. The $40 million World Bank facility announced by the Minister of Agriculture on 18th October, 2023 to support farmers whose farms got destroyed by the flood

2. The pledge by the former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta on 29th October, 2023 of govern- ment’s plan to ring fence Ghc160 million of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to rebuild affected communities as well as support displaced households.

3. The GHC 220 million relief package announced in Parliament in the budget statement on 15th November,2023 by Ofori-Atta to support the flood victims.

4. Government’s request for funds from the World Bank under the IDA Crisis Response Window (CRW) and the Global Shield Against Climate Risk Fund to support flood victims as contained in paragraph 29 and 30 on page 5 of the 2024 budget

5. Ecowas Commission’s letter on 13th December,2023 to the NADMO boss granting an approval of $200,000 per the latter’s request for support to the Akosombo Dam flood victims.

The question we ask is, where are the funds? Who has them? How have they disbursed the funds? Which communities benefitted from the funds? The Mepe Traditional Area, the epicentre of the disaster, has not received any of these funds. In a country that pride itself with its democratic credentials, should citizens be struggling to have accountability? We ask again, where are the funds? We the people of the Mepe Traditional Area will resist any attempt by the State to use our distress to benefit itself. We demand accountability now!

The silence of the state on its support for the resettlement of the flood victims, restoration of liveli- hoods, compensation and reconstruction of infrastructure in the affected communities, particular- ly in Mepe with over 10,000 displaced persons, has stretched the patience of the people to its limit and waiting without any positive signs is no longer an option.

We call on President Akufo-Addo and the inter-ministerial committee to, as a matter of urgency, respond to the plight of our people which has been exacerbated by the State’s neglect of its duty of care to the victims of this state-created disaster.