They refused to evacuate for Akosombo dam spillage… Sanitation minister blame residents

The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Freda Prempeh has said the victims of the Akosombo Dam spillage should take some of the blame for the devastation.

She said residents in the communities affected refused to evacuate after several warnings from the Volta River Authority.

Speaking during a forum organized by Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and its customers in Accra, Freda Prempeh said, “The Akosombo dam spillage, even though Volta River Authority, National Disaster Management Organization, the Water Resources Commission, came together to educate the people in the community and did simulation exercises with them even at Mepe, yet, they refused to leave. They did not want to be evacuated, and they stayed there till the end when we started spilling.

“Unfortunately, look at what is happening, and the government has to spend millions of money on relief items, and education. The water in the whole area is contaminated and the Ghana Water Company and Water Resources Commission will have to spend millions of money to treat the water before we can pass it through our pipes. So a stitch in time saves nine. Sometimes it’s difficult to accept the situation, but we will plead with all of you to accept it as it is. Water is life and is essential to everything”.

The devastating impact of the dam spillage has displaced over 20,000 people in the Volta and Greater Accra regions.

The spillage has since had a devastating effect on homes and farmlands, with those along the banks of the River Volta the most affected.

While visiting some victims of the flooding in Mepe in the Volta Region, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said the mandate of the government is to assist the affected persons.

Speaking to the Chief and people of Mepe, President Akufo-Addo also said he is obliged to help the people and it is not about votes and political affiliations