Several agitated inhabitants of communities along the Lower Basin of the Volta Lake are planning a massive demonstration to press home their demand for the Volta River Authority (VRA) to show more commitment to the socio-economic development of the area.
The people in the lower part of the epic Volta Lake have resolved to embark on the protest to highlight a 30-year streak of economic hardship and social deprivation that they have been subjected to since the construction of the Kpong Dam in 1981. The dam is Ghana’s second biggest hydro-electric power generator.
Information gathered by DAILY GUIDE indicates that thousands of youth and elderly indigenes from several districts along the Lower Volta Basin, which straddles both the Eastern and Greater Accra regions, would take part in the demonstration. The worst hit districts include the Lower Manya Krobo District, Dangme West District, North Tongu District and South Tongu District.
Per the 2010 population and Housing Census recently conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), there are more than 314,000 people living in the five districts. When the dam was constructed in 1981, there was flooding along the banks of the Volta Lake resulting in the loss of livelihood and the ecology of the area.
Francis Quarcoo, Secretary of Amedeka Community Representative, one of the liaison negotiation platforms between VRA and the communities, told DAILY GUIDE that previous attempts to stage such protests had been averted by the promise of the VRA to implement a comprehensive community development programme that would transform the economic fortunes of the people living in the area.
But Mr. Quarcoo contended that the people had realized that the VRA was not committed to their plight.
Anytime it rains, the water spills over from the Kpong Dam and usually causes damage to fishing boats and fish traps set by the fisher folks living along the banks of the lake, he said.
He said several attempts to get the VRA to pay compensations had been ignored.
In October 2011, the people of Amedeka, in a letter addressed to the Chief Executive of the VRA, made a request for compensation for the destruction of their fishing canoes, lobster traps and other implements valued at approximately GHC 29,000.
An integral part of their livelihood had been mostly ignored by the VRA.
According to Francis Quarcoo, several pleas and reminders had fallen on deaf ears.
To them, this attitude amply demonstrates VRA’s non-commitment to their livelihood, hence their decision to embark on the protest.
When contacted, Gertrude Koomson, Head of Public Relations at the VRA, told DAILY GUIDE that the demands are sometimes difficult to sort out in terms of the Authority’s corporate obligations or what could be regarded as humanitarian gestures.
According to Mrs. Koomson, VRA recently gave the people GHC 40,000 through the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) when the spillage affected them recently.
“Whenever we meet and there is evidence that such damages occurred, VRA would be ready to give respite,” she said.
However, Ebenezer Dzabaku, a former VRA staff and an author of a book published recently to highlight the plight of the people of the lower Volta Basin, told DAILY GUIDE that the VRA should institute more sustainable projects for the people instead of the ad hoc initiatives, adding, “Maybe they are waiting for the unexpected to happen before they would be serious.”
