The Paramount Chief of Asogli, Togbe Afede XIV, has expressed concerns about the devastating flood caused by the spillage of the Akosombo dam.
Commiserating with the affected victims during a visit to some communities on Saturday, he expressed sympathy for them.
“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 really 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. I can only say that they are going through what ordinary should be unbearable, of course, they are compelled to live to it. They are not wearing all their sufferings, I’m glad that they are braving it.”
He stressed, “This could have been avoided. Standing right at GRIDCO sub-station almost fully submerged, we have seen the situation in people’s homes, it’s really 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.”
Togbe Afede XIV called on Ghanaians to support the affected victims in every little way they can.
“It behoves 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.”
He promised to support the fund created by the MP for the area and the chiefs.
“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.
He advised the Volta River Authority (VRA) to measure the flow of water into the dam as well as the water that goes to spillways.
“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”.
He called for compensation for the affected victims.
