A GROUP, by name Jesuits of GaDaŋme, has debunked claims that the Songor Lagoon, located on the eastern coast of Ghana outside the major town of Ada and to the west of the Volta River estuary, had been sold.
The site, which covers an area of 28,740 hectares, is rumoured in recent weeks mainly on social media and on some traditional media outlets, to have been sold to some unknown persons.
However, the group has come out to refute those claims describing them as a display of “ignorance” by some unscrupulous individuals.
In a statement signed by the spokesperson for the group, Naate Atswele Agbo Nartey, the group said, “The deafening drummings about the allegations that Songor had been sold; that Songor was being taken away from the people of Ada; that Songor was, at the time of the allegations, the livelihood source of Ada, were all a cacophonic display of cynicism, mischief, treachery and, above all, ignorance.”
According to them, the Songor Lagoon had actually been a “dead water body” for decades, adding that it got almost silted and turned into a dumping ground for all kinds of wastes like scattered pieces of rubbish and animals remains.
Some natives of Ada are also said to have often contracted various sicknesses from environmental pollutants such as smelling dead animals, making it “the biggest health concern” of the community as decomposed bodies of dead animals leached from the Lagoon into the floods whenever it rained.
By the year 2013, the Zanor stream, which used to flow into the Songor Lagoon through Battor and its environs had also “completely dried up.”
However, “but for the timely and godly intervention of Electrochem Ghana Limited and by the able leadership of Dr. Daniel Nii Nshia McKorley, Songor today would have been like a swathe or a silted expanse of desolate and fruitless land.”
“The experts of Electrochem successfully designed a master plan towards reviving and restoring Songor to its natural ecological state”, the group noted.
Recounting the process, Mr. Agbo Nartey said, since it was going to be a herculean task to instantly fill the lagoon with water, the experts created “a kind of a water divide” namely India, Pacific, and Atlantic after first cleaning the lagoon of debris.
“Currently, India has been successfully filled with water and aquatic life restored. Thankfully, the neighbouring residents have already and aggressively begun fishing for their livelihood.
“The truth is, the situation is going to get better by the time the entire expanse of Songor will be completely restored. Pacific is the next in line to be filled with water. Its completion means bigger space for fishing and better economic prospects for the people of Ada”, the group stated.
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio