President Akufo-Addo yesterday went to the rescue of victims of the recent spillage of excess water from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams.
This was when he toured some of the affected areas to not only pledge but offered government support in these trying times.
Looking at the level of devastation, he could not help but shared in their plight.
Addressing residents of Mepe, one of the nine (9) districts affected by the flood waters, he said as President of the Republic, he has a constitutional duty to offer every necessary and available help to all persons on Ghanaian soil without discrimination.
He therefore gave his word “I want to assure you that the government is going to do everything in its power to assist and to make sure that things are alright. I think everybody here and I hope you take the message all across – North Tongu, South Tongu, Central Tongu – that when these things happen and government acts, politics does not come into the matter at all.”
That, he said was because “when I took the oath of office as President, I took the oath of office as President for every single individual in Ghana, of all the people in Ghana, all districts whether they voted for me or not. once I have taken oath of office, I am the President of all the people.”
“So, Togbe, you and your elders, I want you to understand that when something like this happens and the government acts government is acting for Ghanaians I came here because Ghanaians are having difficulties and suffering and it is my responsibility to try and help”, he insisted.
If it had to do with the issue of who votes for him and his governing NPP party who does not, he said “I shouldn’t be here because you don’t vote for me but that is not my concern.”
Instead, he emphasised “I came here this afternoon to express my sympathies and to commiserate with all the people in the Mepe area, I chose Mepe because this is the area that has been most affected.”
He therefore asked the over 14,000 victims of the Akosombo Dam spillage and Ghanaians in general, not to politicise the support offered them by government or any other entities as a result of natural disasters.
President Akufo-Addo took the opportunity to express gratitude to the Volta River Authority (VRA), the body that manages the Akosombo Dam for the measures they have been taking over the years in such situations; the simulation exercise, and all the things they have been doing to prepare for it, including sensitisation.
“Because of the good that they have done up until now, by the grace of God, not one single individual has lost his life in this crisis”, he said in praise of VRA.
Tracts of lands, including farms and communities downstream the Akosombo and Kpong dams have been flooded following the spillage of excess water from the two dams used to generate about a third of Ghana’s electricity supply.
The VRA started the spillage at the Akosombo and Kpong dams, both in the Eastern Region, from September 15, 2023, following a rise in the water level of both reservoirs due to appreciable levels of rainfall.
The spillage affected almost all the communities along the lower Volta Basin, resulting in widespread power cuts in the affected communities.
The GRIDCo sub-stations in Fievie, Sogakope, in the Volta Region, have been inundated, leading to the shutting down of the stations.
Meanwhile, aspiring NPP Parliamentary candidate in Asuogyaman, Nana Abrokwah Asare has also been visiting some of the affected areas, supporting victims with food and beddings.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent