Accra, Dec.16, GNA – Ms Akua Sena Dansowaa, Minister of Tourism, on Thursday sympathized with the inhabitants of the lower Volta Basin whose means of livelihood were adversely affected by the construction of the Kpone hydro dam.
“The people of the Upper Volta Basin, especially the North Dai Constituency of which I am the Member of Parliament share in the pain of our brothers and sisters in the Lower Volta Basin”.
Ms Sena Dansowa, who was speaking at the launch of a book titled “The Volta River: Electric generation and poverty at the crossroads” in Accra, specifically mentioned communities such as Akuse, Bator Adidome, Amedeka and Asutsuare, which bore the brunt of Ghana’s second Hydro dam.
. The 120 page-book which was authored by Mr Ebenezer Dzabaku, a philanthropist and a social advocate for deprived communities in the lower Volta Basin, said the objective of the book was not to attack the Volta River Authority (VRA) per se but to bring out facts concerning the deprivation of the people which would help policy makers, institutions and the VRA to appreciate their plight and offer relief.
Ms Sena Dansowaa assured the people in the area of the government’s commitment to provide development projects and programmes to life less burdensome.
According to her, very soon, the problems with regard to the provision of infrastructure, social amenities and employment opportunities to the youth of the area would be tackled by the government.
Mr Francis Opai Tetteh, a former youth leader of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), who reviewed the book, said the publication was a masterpiece that chronicles the history of the construction of both the Akosombo and the Kpong dams.
He said the book also describes how some communities in the country had to sacrifice their livelihood for the development of the country.
He recommended the book for the Ghanaian reading public and said it would be appropriate copies are kept in public places and libraries whiles other too find their way into private libraries.
Mr Ebenezer Dzabaku, the author of the book, said before the construction of the Kpong dam, the life and the environment of the people of the lower Volta Basin was friendly and productive.
He said during that time, the Volta River was at its nature’s best; there were oyster winning by women, whiles the annual flooding, creation of creeks and lagoons, helped in large vegetation and crop farming.
According to him, despite the sacrifices made by the communities in the lower Volta Basin for the construction of the Kpong Dam, they have been subjected to grinding poverty, diseases, lack of access to good education, sanitation, good roads and basic utilities like electricity and potable water.
Mr Dzabaku also stated that between 1962 to date, about 30,000 people especially, the youth have fled from the communities in the lower Volta Basin to Accra, Tema, Ashaiman, and the Afram Plains.
He said unlike other dam sites which were deliberately developed into tourist and economic havens, the construction of the Kpong Dam brought about untold suffering to the people of the Lower Volta Basin.
He said the book also outlines in great detail the potential of the area which can serve as a hub for future modernization of Ghana
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