VRA, government should think outside the box

The Akosombo Dam which was started in 1961 and was finally completed in 1965 saw Tongu lands, Eastern and Anlo lands submerged by the flood, specifically in 1963. 

The Volta River Authority (VRA) by then assured the people affected that the issue would not happen again.

Compensations were paid to people and resettlement schemes were provided to victims.

The question the affected communities are asking is, why the flooding again?

The CEO of the Volta River Authority has a very big question to answer.

VRA’s explanation on Joy Prime’s seven o’clock news telecast on October 12, 2023, was that the water level had only one foot left for the dam to overflow and that they were safeguarding the dam.

I am overwhelmed by such an explanation.

What level will the water spilled have reached before it is spilled?

Why not spill the water gradually as the water level in the reservoir increases but wait until it reaches that level VRA is claiming?

Many are of the view that if the water was spilled gradually as the level increased, the company might have spilled a lot from the reservoir to avoid the current situation.

Is there no other way of recycling the surplus water to generate more power for the nation?

I challenge the CEO of VRA to immediately carry out feasibility studies to find ways and means of avoiding such a disaster in future.

I am aware the answer he, the CEO, will give is, it is impossible. But I won’t buy it. It is possible.

This issue occurred 63 years ago, and if it has occurred for the second time, there should be a lasting solution to avert a future occurrence.

Although rainfall is a natural phenomenon, there are other ways to avoid such disasters which the government in collaboration with VRA should immediately start putting on the drawing board.

The VRA should not wait for the dam to be full to its brim before spilling volumes of water.

The homelessness and the psychological state of the victims cannot be underestimated. Kwame Nkrumah must not be weeping in his grave because those in whose hands the dam and positions were entrusted failed to do their duty.

Let us find a lasting solution to this problem in order to avoid future disasters more grievous than we are witnessing.

Sowah Semanu Manasseh, Mepe
(sowamanas@gmail.com)