Professor Ransford Gyampo
The fact that Ghana is a very polarised society can no longer be in doubt.
Even a national disaster occasioned by the Akosombo Dam spillage cannot bring us together in our search for humanitarian relief for our brothers and sisters in distress.
As the state is overwhelmed by the sheer devastation, NDC MPs in the Volta Region and elsewhere have never been appreciative of the efforts by the government to address the problem; even state agencies are doing their best under the circumstances.
We call on the political actors to build consensus on challenges like the flood disaster so that collectively the country can mobilise the resources to normalise the situation in Mepe and other places.
The spillage has been done and this is not the time for blame game but practical action to reduce the pain of the victims and put measures in place to avoid a recurrence.
In the meantime, we salute various private sector groups and companies as well as individuals who have responded to the distress calls of the victims.
We ask again, would the alternative to a spillage at the time the Volta River Authority (VRA) did it better serve the interest of the nation? Climate change has altered the way we must conduct our business on mother earth going forward.
Floods resulting from heavy downpours are happening all over the globe and causing serious dislocation to human life.
There is the need now for the coalition of the willing including government, political parties, traditional and religious leaders, civil society groups and the media to resolve to hold all of us to account for our actions.
Let us decide now that pain and suffering of the Lower Volta communities would never happen again.
We call on all citizens of goodwill to remember the flood victims by donating to support their well-being. We wish the victims well in their present difficult circumstances.
We hope there are still very discerning and respectful people in Larteh Akuapem who hold onto the proverbial traits of respect for everybody, especially the elderly and prefix their conversations with “mporwu kutu” in Larteh.
For the larger Akuapem community in the 17 towns on the Ridge, they lace insults with respect as we are told the Akuapem person in looking down on you would express his or her feelings decently by saying, “me pawo kyew mise woyƐ aboa.”
The way Professor Gyampo gets involved in every national discourse these days make some wonder whether he is now a politician or lecturer. He should be bold and declare his stand so that he can be confronted accordingly. Even before he gets to that bridge we are ahead of him and can confidently say that he is part of John Mahama’s rescue mission brigade although he flirted with Alan Kyerematen before he defected from the NPP.
We reiterate that the conversation in the corridors of certain political actors does not help to assuage the pain of the floods victims.
As usual, the NDC has climbed into the heavens to proclaim to the whole world that the only people who care for the victims are Mahama and the NDC when the donations they made last Friday did not match what the government has done for the people so far.
It is sad that the NDC expects to just play on the sufferings of the people to win power, but not because it has the necessary competences to fix the challenges of the country.
Does it come as a surprise that the Minority Leader is calling for a parliamentary enquiry into the Dam spillage? This group of people would not learn from the danger that looms with their desired probe into the Bugrigate that is opening a can of worms in the Ghana Police Service instead of an expose on the plot to remove the IGP.
Very soon the NDC Minority would call for a probe into domestic affairs. We are of the firm belief that with unity of purpose, the country would weather the storm occasioned by the spillage.