Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Freda Prempeh, has disclosed that victims of the floods from the spillage of water from the Akosombo Dam were advised to move ahead of the exercise by the stakeholders but refused to heed to the directive.
According to the Minister, the Volta River Authority, National Disaster Management Organisation and the Water Resources Commission conducted series of education with simulation exercises for the victims but failed to evacuate the place before the exercise took place.
Speaking to a group of people in Accra, the Minister said the hardest hit Mepe was part of the areas that received the education but decided to be adamant until the spillage begun when things have already become late.
She bemoaned the millions of Cedis government has had to commit to ensure victims get relief items to cater for themselves since the floods began.
The VRA has been blastered for failing to inform the residents and evacuate them since the spillage begun in September 15 displacing people after submerging their homes.
Some voices have called for a State of Emergency to be declared whilst the residents are calling on the government to relocate them to the abandoned Saglemi Housing Unit.
The topic of asking the residents to leave with education and simulation exercises is a new twist to the conversation as it has never been heard anywhere since engagement on the matter commenced.
“We don’t want what has happened at Akosombo to happen to us in Accra. The Akosombo spillage, even though VRA, NADMO, the water resources commission came together to educate the people in the community, did simulation exercise with them even at Mepe yet they refused to leave. They didn’t want to be evacuated. They stayed there till the end when we started spilling.
“Unfortunately look at what is happening. The government has to spend millions of monies on relief items, on education, the whole area the water is contaminated and Ghana Water, the Water Resources Commission spend millions of monies to treat the water before we pass it through our pipes. So, a stitch in time saves nine but sometimes it’s difficult to accept the situation. We cannot continue to sit down and allow these things to go on looking at what is happening,” she indicated.
Madam Prempeh described the backlash on the government, NADMO and VRA as unfortunate considering the role they played to the residents would be safe.
“Now people are blaming government, VRA, NADMO. These three institutions really did a lot of education right from January. Even in September they were still talking to the people to move because there was the likelihood they were going to spill in the next week or two because the rainfall patterns have changed, climate change…you cannot anticipate when it was going to rain. So even if they start to spill on a very gradual note the rain could also fall and the dam will keep coming up,” she pointed out.
