The controlled spillage of water from the Akosombo and Kpong dams in the Eastern Region initiated by the Volta River Authority (VRA) from September 15, 2023 has flooded communities in seven districts in three regions, namely Eastern, Greater Accra and Volta (See story on page 13).
For instance, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Central Tongu Constituency, Alexander Roosevelt, says 30 communities in his constituency in the Volta Region have been devastated and described as the situation as precarious.
Even though no official assessment of the flooding has been done, Roosevelt can testify that houses are submerged, electricity supply cut and his people are hungry.
We know the situation can be worse in actual fact than the picture the MP is painting because social and economic activities on which life in general depends on have been disrupted.
So far, floods from both downpours and planned spillage of dams have become part of the Ghanaian life.
Can the state not plan to, at least, deal with the floods that result from spillage of dams and get overwhelmed by only those following downpours, at least?
At a ceremony held in Adidome in the Volta Region on Wednesday, the VRA, in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), offered relief items such as mattresses, blankets, food items, clothes, and toiletries to affected communities in the Central Tongu, North Tongu, Keta, and Anlo districts.
We are happy about the support but think relief items are not enough for people devastated by floods; their losses are so much that the items make mockery of them.
And even worse is that sometimes, some of the victims do not receive any of the items, a challenge NADMO must address not only in the current case but also in future.
The spillage could not be avoided because of observed consistent rise in the lake level due to high inflows resulting from heavy rains coupled with the spillage of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso, which is a yearly undertaking.
Therefore, the VRA had earlier cautioned all residents along the Volta River and downstream of Akosombo and Kpong dams to be on alert and take the necessary precautionary measures.
What precautionary measures were the people expected to take? Were they made to understand them? Were they guided as to how to go about them? Were the measures within their ability and financial means? Did they have enough time to act?
Should people living in flood-prone areas always be only cautioned and left to their fate?
We are worried that this has been the attitude of NADMO in particular, an organisation purposely instituted to handle disasters in the country but appears only more interested in sharing relief items all because it can have spill-overs.
We know NADMO is not that all-mighty to contain all disasters because of their lack of the requisite resources and the fact that some disasters overwhelm even the best of preparations, yet we think NADMO is performing far below expectation.
We expect it to collaborate with the relevant organisations and be present in precarious communities and educate the people about signs or causes of certain disasters and the necessary actions to take long before disasters can strike.
Let NADMO officials prove they are up to the task and we will stop punching them.
