Weija is a ticking time bomb - MP to file urgent question in parliament

Member of Parliament for Ho West and ranking member on the works and housing committee, Emmanuel Bedzrah, says he would file a question over the continuous existence of people on the Weija ridge.

It follows the broadcast of a TV3 feature, which revealed the dangers associated with people living on the cliff which is gradually washing away.

The feature also brought to light concerns of an impending disaster by the geological survey authority and the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), as human activities continue on the ridge.

Ranking member on the works and housing committee Emmanuel Bedzrah is surprised state agencies responsible for checking planning and siting of structures have looked on for the people to endanger their lives.

“The agencies NADMO, GSA and the assemblies who are supposed to be talking to each other to ensure the right thing is done, are not talking to each other.”

He added, “law enforcement agencies have also not been proactive, only waiting for a disaster like it happened in Sierra Leone, before they begin to act. That cannot be right.”

Asked whether he was minded to take up the matter on the floor of parliament, Emmanuel Bedzrah said, “I am more than willing to ask a question of the lands minister in parliament over this matter. It would be one of the first things I would do when the house resumes next week.”

He added, “I am grateful that TV3 has brought this to the fore, and it is a timely reminder for us to act as a state and prevent what could possibly be a huge disaster.”

As lawmakers and representatives of the people in parliament, “it is for us to lead this and ask the relevant questions,” Mr. Bedzrah told Johnnie Hughes in a post broadcast conversation on new day on TV3, from his base in Sierra Leone which coincidentally witnessed a massive mudslide in 2017, which killed more than six hundred people.