I’ll resign if Majority’s pictures of Keta sand winning is true – Gakpey

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Keta, Kwame Dzudzorle Gakpey has criticised the Akufo-Addo government for neglecting residents of Keta who have been displaced by tidal waves.

Over thousand persons were affected by the waves which destroyed about 500 homes within the Keta Municipality on Sunday.

Residents have lamented the failure of the government to make an intervention to assuage the situation.

The MP shares in their frustrations too.

“No official has been to my constituency to see the devastating effects of the tidal waves. Not even the Presidency, Vice President’s office, and Ministry of Works and Housing,” Gakpey lamented.

Despite President Akufo-Addo’s silence on the frustrations of the victims who are along the Keta, Ketu, and Anloga coast, the Majority in Parliament have blamed the disaster on sand winning.

At a press conference in Accra, Deputy Majority leader, Afenyo Markin, showed some pictures that suggested that the fetching if sand from the Keta coast resulted in a terrible situation.

But Mr. Gakpey has rubbished the Sandwinnig claim, saying “the pictures are not from Keta but Sierra Leone.”

“I, Kwame Dzudzorle Gakpey, I’m challenging them that if this picture is coming from Keta, I’ll resign as a member of Parliament,” the MP told Power FM’s Piesie Okrah at Keta.

He said although sand winnig is happening everywhere across the country, he cannot admit it caused the floods.

To him, the tidal waves can be best described as a natural disaster, arguing that there was ban in sand winnig among the coast.

Gakpey also indicated that the failure of the Akufo-Addo government to continue the Keta sea defence project that was commenced by previous governments along the Blekuso stretch is why the tidal waves caused damage to properties in the area.

“The second phase of the Keta sea defence project has stalled and this government has not seen the need to start the phase two of the project,” he added.

He also descended on the government for not allocating funds for the project, stressing “they did not capture the project in the last budget.”

Asked whether there is the need for the people to relocate from the coast, Mr Gakpey dismissed the suggestion outrightly and called for a swift government intervention.

“If you look at this area, we are living in between the sea and the Lagoon.”

“If you say we should relocate, do you want us to relocate into the sea or the lagoon?”he quizzed.

He added, “the permanent solution is the sea defence wall… Why won’t they build the sea defence?” Gakpey asked.