The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has appealed to the government to urgently replace all lost national identity cards, passports and other documents of victims affected by the Akosombo dam spillage.
Ablakwa argues that replacing identity documents like birth certificates, health insurance cards, voter ID cards, passports, and Ghana cards for affected individuals is necessary on humanitarian grounds to alleviate their plight.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, Ablakwa said, “I’m calling on the government to replace thousands of lost Ghana Cards, Health Insurance Card, Voter ID Cards, Birth Certificates and Passports. For victims of far-reaching catastrophic consequences of the September 5, 2023 spillage, from the Akosombo and Kpong dams by the Volta River Authority.
“The time has come for the relevant public institutions to carry out a special and comprehensive exercise in all affected constituencies to immediately replace these important documents.”
He expressed appreciation to Ghanaians for supporting the victims in salvaging the situation.
But in response, the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin said the call must be channelled to the relevant institutions for redress.
“The call should be made to the EC, National Health Insurance Authority and others. We cannot narrow everything to the government, and we may not be getting the solution.
“Let’s move from our offices beyond the talk on the floor of the house and move there, they are our colleagues. Let’s direct this appropriately so that we get solutions.”