The Paramount Chief of Asogli, Togbe Afede XIV, has expressed worry over the devastating flood caused by the spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong dams.
Several communities in eight districts have been affected by the ongoing spillage exercise as many houses and business structures have been submerged, leaving many residents displaced.
During a visit to some affected communities in the lower Volta Region, the Agbogbomefia said “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 and talking to the chief, 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.”
“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,” he emphasised.
Togbe Afede XIV further presented GH¢100,000 as a form of relief for victims severely impacted by the spillage.
He urged all Ghanaians to support the government in bringing the situation under control.
“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.
“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 reiterated.
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.
From October 9, 2023, tracts of land and communities downstream the Akosombo and Kpong dams have been flooded.
This follows the second-stage spillage of the two dams used to generate about a third of Ghana’s electricity supply.
The Volta River Authority (VRA) started the controlled spillage at the Akosombo and Kpong dams, both in the Eastern Region, on September 15, 2023, following excess water in both reservoirs due to appreciable levels of rainfall.
The spillage has affected almost all the communities along the lower Volta Basin, resulting in widespread power cuts in the affected communities.