The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Freda Prempeh, has attributed the extensive damage resulting from the Akosombo Dam spillage to the refusal of residents living along the dam to evacuate before the spillage occurred.
This statement comes in the wake of the devastating impact of the dam spillage, which has displaced more than 20,000 people in the Volta, Eastern and Greater Accra regions.
While expressing sympathy for the affected individuals, Freda Prempeh emphasized the considerable financial burden placed on the government to provide relief to the victims and address the aftermath of the disaster.
Speaking during a forum organized by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and its customers in Accra, Freda Prempeh explained,
“The Akosombo dam spillage, even though Volta River Authority, National Disaster Management Organisation, and the Water Resources Commission, came together to educate the people in the community and did simulation exercises with them even at Mepe, yet, they refused to leave. They did not want to be evacuated, and they stayed there till the end when we started spilling.”
“Unfortunately, look at what is happening, and the government has to spend millions of money on relief items, and education. The water in the whole area is contaminated and the Ghana Water Company and Water Resources Commission will have to spend millions of money to treat the water before we can pass it through our pipes.
“So a stitch in time saves nine. Sometimes it’s difficult to accept the situation, but we will plead with all of you to accept it as it is. Water is life and is essential to everything”.
