‘They refused to leave’ – Sanitation minister blames victims of dam spillage

Sanitation and Water Resources Minister Freda Prempeh has underscored the need to avert massive flooding as is happening in Akosombo and other parts of the country especially in Accra.

According to her, government through relevant agencies is currently deploying funds to ease the affairs of people who had refused to evacuate even when the Volta River Authority (VRA), the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and Water Resources Commission (WRC) had warned of consequences arising from the planned spillage of the Akosombo Dam.

“We don’t want what has happened in Akosombo to happen to us in Accra. The Akosombo spillage even though VRA, NADMO, the Water Resources Commission came together to educate the people in the community, did simulation exercises with them even at Mepe, yet they refused to leave, they didn’t want to be evacuated.

“They stayed on till the end when we started spilling, unfortunately, look at what is happening and government has to spend millions of money on relief items, education; the whole area, the water is contaminated,” she said at an event in Accra on October 23.

She added that the government, VRA and NADMO are suffering blame despite the massive education and other efforts that they invested since January 2023 till early September when the spillage was nearing.

“A stitch in time saves nine, we cannot sit back and allow situations like that …now people are blaming government, people are blaming VRA, people are blaming NADMO but these three institutions did a lot of education right from January till September,” she added.

In mid-September, the VRA started spilling excess water from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams in order to avoid collapse of the hydroelectric facility.

The spillage came with it massive waters that quickly inundated communities around the dam stretching several kilometers. It affected eight districts across three constituencies: North, Central and South Tongu.

Government has established an inter-ministerial committee led by the Chief of Staff to oversee an emergency response with president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo visiting Mepe last week to have a first-hand understanding of the situation.

SARA

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