Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
The Majority in Parliament has called for the management of the Volta River Authority (VRA) to be summoned before the House to brief members about the spillage from the Akosombo Dam.
Following the spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong dams, towns and communities in 11 constituencies in the Eastern and Volta Regions have been flooded.
The constituencies are Asuogyaman, Anlo, Keta, Ketu North, Ketu South, Kpando, North Dayi, South Dayi, Central Tongu, North Tongu, and South Tongu.
Reacting to the humanitarian crisis at the re-opening of Parliament, Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said as representatives of the people, MPs needed some answers to questions about what exactly happened prior to the spillage.
“We may need to find some answers to questions and I guess it is important for us to invite VRA to come and fully brief the House about what has happened and the repercussions and how to avoid such events in future,” he stressed.
He added, “Of course, we are looking at the integrity of the dam itself. Fancy the situation if this was not done and the dam itself got breached, you know the pounded water’s effect stretches as far as Yaji and beyond.”
According to him, if all the impounded water was allowed to flow out within one week, Ghanaians can fathom the devastation that it will cause the nation.
“May be about a quarter of this country will be gone. But we hope in God that it doesn’t happen,” Majority Leader suggested.
He indicated, however, that what has happened has affected some people.
“How do we assist them and arrest any such future event? This is why I am saying that it will become important for us to invite the VRA to have some discussions with them on that,” he noted.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said this year has seen tremendous rainfall everywhere in the country, saying, “These have caused some flooding with additional burden of living under the spill of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso really contributed to the immense flooding in the north.”
“This year, thanks to the heavy downpours of rain, we were preparing ourselves for a bountiful harvest. Unfortunately, this inundation of farmlands due to the massive rainfall and the spillage of the Bagre Dam,” he asserted.
“That certainly is going to compound the food situation in the country and the hope is that it will not lead to the sky-rocketing of food prices to add to the already high levels of food inflation in the country,” the Majority Leader said.
He stated that even though it was controlled, because of the heavy rainfalls even the communities down south to the dam were already flooded and the spillage added to the trouble of those living downstream.
“People have lost property – houses, vehicles, livestock – and even life. And crops have also been lost,” he said.
“So certainly it is going to contribute to the impoverishment of the people down south – thus below the Akosombo dam such as Akrade, Atimpoku,” he pointed.
Speaker of Parliament, Alban S.K. Bagbin, also called on MPs who are not affected by the spillage to support their colleagues to bring relief to the people.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House