The Member of Parliament for the Keta constituency in the Volta region, Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey, has intimated his intentions to sue the Volta River Authority (VRA) for the damages caused his constituents through the spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong dams.
Some districts in the Volta region have been flooded for some days after the VRA spilled the Akosombo and Kpong dams for reaching their maximum levels.
Residents have been counting their losses after the floods with thousands currently displaced. According to the residents, the VRA did not make any arrangement with them for evacuation leading to the destruction of properties with many trapped inside their flooded homes.
The VRA, has, however, said it engaged some stakeholders in the area and informed the residents of the spillage in September this year.
But speaking with Captain Smart on Onua TV/FM’s morning show, Maakye, Monday, October 16, 2023, the MP, whose constituents are part of those affected by the floods says the Authority has not been proactive in carrying out the exercise, indicating his intentions to sue it for the damages caused his people.
“I want to tell you that the VRA has not been proactive when it comes to this issue. I am going to sue them. I will mobilise my people and together we will sue the VRA,” he stated.
Meanwhile, President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will, today, Monday, October 16, 2023, visit the districts severely hit by the floods.
The President would be joined by members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee set up by the government to ascertain the harm caused by the floods to proffer appropriate relief to victims.
Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, the Chief of Staff, who is head of the Committee, will be coordinating the response on the spillage for the government.
The President, will, aside from assessing a firsthand impact of the floods will also announce measures to bring relief to the victims in the North Tongu, Central Tongu and South Tongu districts who were gravely affected by the floods. These areas lie low along the Lower Volta Basin.
The three worst affected districts have so far received five trucks of assorted items according to sources at the Volta River Authority (VRA).
The items include bags of rice, gari, maize, beans, sugar, gallons of oil, detergents, tissue, plastic buckets, bows, mattresses and blankets.
After a briefing from the Inter-Ministerial Committee at Mepe today, the next phase of intervention would be known as more trucks are prepared to undertake deliveries.
The maximum level of water in the Akosombo Dam should be 276 feet, the VRA said.
As of Thursday, October 12, 2023, the water level in the dam was 276.92 feet or 84.405 metres.
Before the spillage, the level was 272.50 feet or 83.058 metres.
From its website, the VRA said the level of water in the Akosombo Dam as of yesterday (October 15) was 277.24 feet or 84.503 metres, compared with 271.65 feet or 82.798 metres level of the lake at the same time last year (Saturday, October 15, 2022).
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