As part of its emergency preparedness plan, the Volta River Authority19 Greater Accra Region was attended by communities such as Kadjanya, Asutsuare, Osuwem, Duokpo, Tokpo, Huapa, among others.
Mr Benjamin Sackey, the Director of Environment and Development of the VRA in an address, commended the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) for their invaluable role in managing the distress situation in the 2023 spillage.
He said the last time there was a spillage of that magnitude was in 2010, adding that, but that did not create the magnitude of after-effects experienced last year.
Mr Sackey said a lot of recommendations had been made since the 2023 disaster, urging all stakeholders to see to their implementation.
He said; “We have learnt our lessons with the 2023 spillage and going forward we hope the impact would be minimal.”
He called on the Assembly to roll out the District Contingency Plan in due course which catered for all forms of disasters in the area.
Mr Sackey appealed to the Assembly and the Member of Parliament for the area to consider the creation of a disaster fund to support people during such emergencies.
He said the date of the next precautionary spillage would be communicated in due course, advised the community members to refrain from listening to hearsays or relying on social media for information on the scheduled spillage, but to rather contact the VRA for any such information.
Mr Noah Sabutey, the Presiding Member of the Shai-Osudoku District Assembly, who represented the District Chief Executive, appealed to the people not to build close to the riverbank in view of the hazards of that situation.
To this effect, he said a taskforce had been put in place to educate the people so that those who wanted to build would contact the Assembly for guidance before doing so.
He thanked all donor agencies for their much-needed support during last year’s spillage disaster.
Mr Samuel Fletcher, the Community Relations Manager of VRA informed the participants that the Authority had the mandate of sensitising the people along the lower Volta Basin concerning potential spillages.
He said as part of recommendations from the last spillage, it had become necessary to inform the people of any impending spillage to help them prepare for any eventuality going forward.
Nana Asante Boateng, the Head of the Shai-Osudoku District NADMO in a presentation mentioned that there was the need to create water reservoirs to harvest excess water for farming in future spillages.
He said 15 communities including Abuvienu, Adokope, Asilevikope, Tokpo, Tsikpoteyekope, Walekukope and Djokpo were heavily affected by last year’s spillage which rendered many individuals homeless and caused extensive damage to households.
He also added his voice to the creation of an emergency disaster fund by the VRA to alleviate the plight of affected communities during spillages.
Madam Akosua Owusu-Efaa, an Engineer with the Water Resources and Renewable Energy Department, who made a presentation on behalf of the VRA said for the impending spillage, flooding of homes was not expected except for buildings along the river channel which would be minimal.
She said the Eastern, Greater Accra and Volta Regions were key areas where the impact would be minimal for this spillage.
She attributed some of the effects of last year’s spillage to the location of some affected communities within close distance from the Volta River and flood prone areas.
Nene Narh Guamatsu IV, the Acting Chief of Asutsuare and Divisional Chief of Tsangmer Osudoku on behalf of Osudoku Traditional Council expressed displeasure about last year’s spillage and urged the VRA to use the occasion to properly sensitise inhabitants to prevent a future occurrence.
During an open forum, a participant called on VRA to refrain from imposing energy bills on residents along the riverbank who were affected by the spillage.
GNA