Akosombo Dam spillage: Flooding situation could have been avoided – Togbe Afede XIV

Togbe Afede XIV, the Paramount Chief of Asogli, has expressed concern over the devastating flood caused by the Akosombo Dam spillage.

The traditional ruler expressed sympathy for the affected victims when he visited some of the communities that had been affected.

According to him, the flooding situation which affected some 7 districts and displaced over 26,000 people could have been avoided.

Togbe Afede XIV urged Ghanaians to provide all possible support to the affected individuals.

“We are all one people, we are all Ghanaians, and we are all from Volta Region, our lives are inextricably linked, so whatever impacts our people here, positively or negatively, has implications for all of us as well. Indeed, meeting the people, talking to the chief, some individuals, it’s a bad thing they are living through. To have woken up one day and lost your property, or house, it’s very difficult in our country. It’s hard to imagine their plight, I have tried so many times to imagine that in my shoes.”

“This could have been avoided. Standing right at the GRIDCO sub-station almost fully submerged, we have seen the situation in people’s homes, it’s mind-boggling. They will live with the pain for some time. It’s not that it will have a clear path and go down the slope, this will be stagnant water for a very long time. People cannot go about their jobs as they used to do, schooling, and working, are all disrupted. People are suffering from the kind of things they eat. Truly, my heart, our hearts go out to them, we want to be able to stand by them, it’s a difficult moment and that is why we are here. We indeed share in their pains.”

“It behooves all of us as Ghanaians to share in their pains and see what we can do as individuals to alleviate their sufferings. We are happy the MP and the chiefs are doing their best. And we all should take it very seriously.”

“We have come to lend our widow’s mite to them, in an attempt to alleviate their problems to minimize their sufferings. We will give cash donations to support the fund, as the first attempt by us, and we have contributed GH¢100,000, towards that,” he said.

To the Volta River Authority (VRA) he said, “I would expect the authorities should be able to measure the flow of water into the dam and in some cases predict the flow and what is happening upstream. They should be able to plan short, medium, and long term. When was the last time we dredged the estuary? The conditions of the estuary should be known”.