Former President John Dramani Mahama has told the Volta River Authority (VRA) to be swift in providing the support that it has assured to give to victims of the flood that was caused by the spillage of the Akosombo dam.
Mr Mahama who toured communities affected by the flood on Friday, October 13 noted that the victims really need support due to the level of damage done to their priorities by the flood.
“The three most affected constituencies are North, Central, and South Tongu. I think the number of people who have been displaced especially when we went to the hospital we saw that medical personnel have all been evacuated from their quarters and they are seeking shelter in a pavilion in the hospital.
“So they actually need support. Our understanding is that the water is not going to rise any further, from what we hear from the VRA engineer but it will take time to get better because it takes time for the water to recede for the place to become dry again,” he told journalists.
He added “The people really need help but unfortunately, my understanding is that NADMO has nothing, happily, VRA said they are going to support them with some relief items. So I will thank VRA and appeal to them that the people are in need and so whatever relief they want to give them they should expedite it so that they can assist people with the current situation.”
The VRA had earlier assured to evacuate the victims to safer locations until the situation come down.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the VRA, Mr Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa said that the lake was experiencing inflows more than expected hence the spillage is going to continue.
“We are on phase II [of the spillage] right now and it is a cycle. It is normal at this time of the year for us to experience inflows. The difference is that we are getting more than expected and to safeguard this dam means that we have to spill water, that is the standard operation for any hydro dam but the inflows that we are seeing now are in excess.
“Definitely, as the cycle goes through this will recede so we are hoping it will recede in the next time,” he told journalists on Thursday, October 12.
“The spilling may continue even though we are anticipating that the levels may drop down to phase 1, which was started on September 15 but of course, we did not have much excess as we are seeing now, this is an emergency as we have seen from the beginning.
“Whether dredging or no dredging it is an emergency. The volume of water that is coming into the lake right now which we have to throw out, it means that we need to evacuate people from wherever they are to ensure they are safe until the inflows recede,” he added.
The VRA was accused of neglecting its responsibilities in the Lower Volta Basin hence the huge impact of flood caused by spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams on communities.