The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) is placing blame on residents residing near the Akosombo Dam for their failure to heed repeated warnings to evacuate in the event of a dam spillage.
NADMO has faced criticism from individuals and civil society organizations for not promptly providing accurate information to residents before the dam spillage occurred.
But speaking to Accra-based Citi TV/Citi FM, George Ayisi, the Director of Communications at NADMO, defended their position by stating that the victims were severely impacted by the Akosombo Dam spillage because they did not take the warnings seriously.
According to him, the residents were caught off guard because earlier warnings of a potential spillage in 2022 did not materialize. He insisted that they had conscientiously raised awareness among the residents.
“We set up a team comprised of NADMO and the Volta River Authority in March 2023. The technical engagement between NADMO and VRA produced an emergency preparedness plan. Simulation is a part of the emergency preparedness plan. In May, we had the simulation exercise, where we engaged all the people in all 9 districts. We even extended it to Kpando, so that they were on standby. In case there’s a spillover, maybe Kpando will have the effect.”
“The assemblies, all major stakeholders in the communities were there, we engaged them. We demonstrated what ought to be done, and we extensively involved them. We were doing concurrent simulation exercises. And so I’m surprised people say nobody was notified. The people were aware, but they didn’t believe the spillage was going to be done, because in 2022, VRA warned of a spillage, the people were informed, but it didn’t happen. So they thought last year we came and told them but nothing happened. Yes, in 2010 there was a spillage, but it didn’t inundate us in any way.”
He also noted that the warnings had prevented any casualties in the region following the spillage.
Ayisi emphasized that some affected residents had to be compelled to evacuate. “When inundation started, some of them didn’t want to move out because they were protecting their properties, so we had to force them to move out,” he said, adding that safe havens have been provided for those affected.
