I'm saddened by the pains I see in the eyes of our mothers - Bawumia visits Akosombo flood victims

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has expressed his sympathy to victims of the Akosombo Dam spillage which has displaced several households in the Volta Region and some parts of Eastern and Greater Accra Regions.

The spillage displaced communities in about eight districts and the Vice President, on Wednesday October 18, 2023, toured some of the affected communities in the Volta Region as well as some holding centres providing temporary shelter for the victims.

Addressing a gathering of Chiefs and residents in the communities, Dr. Bawumia empathized with the victims saying "when I look into the eyes of our mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers who are seated here, I see so much sadness and pains. Their lives have been turned upside down as a result of what has happened".

"These are people who were going about their normal duties everyday to take care of themselves, but now they have to really depend on others for livelihood and I am saddened by that", he added.

Dr. Bawumia urged the victims to find solace in the Holy Book and thank God for the gift of life.

"We are told in the good Book that in all things, we should give thanks to God. Why are we thanking God in this situation? Because He has saved the lives of all those here. So far, we have not heard of the loss of life and life is more important."

"We thank God for their lives. In many situations, such disasters are accompanied by loss of lives and we thank God that everybody here is safe. With life, we can restore what we have lost."

The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and other government agencies through the Inter-Ministerial Committee set up by the government has swiftly responded to the disaster by evacuating the affected people to about 20 holding centres and also provided them with emergency relief items.

Dr. Bawumia pledged government's committed to restoring the livelihoods of the affected people.

He stated "I want to assure that Government will do everything possible to assist the affected people to provide relief and also restore the livelihoods of those affected", adding "we are not only looking at temporary relief, we are also looking at a more sustained support through the Inter- Ministerial Committee, so that those affected can restore their livelihoods".

The Vice President commended NADMO for their proactiveness which he said has helped in averting what could have been a bigger disaster.

"I want to thank the NADMO for their proactiveness. We could have had a major disaster in our hands without the proactiveness of NADMO, through the simulation exercise they conducted last year, when they did not even know this would happen."

"I also want to thank the army, the navy, VRA and all stakeholders for their collective efforts so far."

Among communities the Vice President visited were New Bakpa in Central Tongu district, Sogakope and Sokpoe, both in South Tongu district.

The Vice President was accompanied by the Interior Minister, Ambrosse Dery, Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Volta Regional Minister, Archibald Letsa and officials of NADMO and the Volta River Authority.