Relief items from the VRA were not presented to us - Dzifa Gomashie denies claims to the contrary

The Member of Parliament for Ketu South, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has refuted claims that she and two other MPs within the southern enclave of the Volta Region have received relief items from the Volta River Authority (VRA).

She explained that the purported news is false and misleading, particularly because neither she nor Kwame Sefe, the MP for Anlo, nor Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey of Keta have received any such items from the VRA.

She took the opportunity to explain what she and the other two MPs were doing in a photo that accompanied the claims being made concerning this supposed distribution of relief items.

She added that although some relief items have been donated, they were sent to the MCEs, DCEs, and NADMO officials.

“We have come across a news item published in Opera News on the above subject matter, which purported that the Volta River Authority (VRA) has donated some relief items to flood victims in three constituencies in the Volta Region and received by us, namely Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie, MP of Ketu South; Hon. Kwame Sefe, MP for Anlo and Hon. Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey.

“The picture accompanying the story is misleading, as the two Members of Parliament were there to witness the arrival of the goods but have not received the said donation for their constituencies. We only signed for medications which the Directors of Municipal and District Health Officials received on behalf of their hospitals,” she wrote in an official statement, made available to GhanaWeb.

Dzifa Gomashie further called on the public to disregard the news item and treat it with contempt.

She stressed the personal efforts she and her other colleagues from the affected communities have been engaged in, to bring relief to their constituents.

She reiterated that there has not been any point, since the Akosombo Dam spillage, that the VRA (which caused the floods) has come to their aid with any reliefs support.

“We wish to state emphatically, that, this publication and its claims are false, and must be treated with the contempt it deserves.

“Since numerous communities in our respective constituencies got flooded as a result of the spillage of the Volta Dams in Akosombo and Kpong by the VRA. We have personally been out there mobilizing through the help of individuals and organizations to obtain relief items for our people. At no point in all these efforts, have we had the VRA donate any items to us as Members of Parliament for onward distribution to the fond victims in our respective constituencies,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has announced, through the 2024 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, that the government has committed GH¢220 to take of reliefs for the affected persons in the Volta Region, as well as some other regions affected by floods in the country.

“Honourable Speaker, government has budgeted an amount of GH¢220 million to support the relief phase for the communities affected by he Akosombo Spillage, as well as floods upstream in the Oti, Savannah, and Bono East Regions,” he said.

Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.

AE/OGB