North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of concrete action taken by the government five months after the spillage of the Akosombo Dam.
This has left displaced people still living in tents, with no provision made to restore them to their previous living conditions. The government had budgeted over GH₵200 million to resettle the victims, but none of this money has yet been disbursed.
Ablakwa emphasized that the completion of new homes for some victims only covered a fraction of the displaced population.
He called on the government to expedite action to address the situation and also to honor the invitations of chiefs and the victims for engagement on how to restore them to normalcy.
The Akosombo and Kpong dams spillage, which began on September 15, 2023, as a result of a consistent rise in the inflow pattern and water level of the Akosombo reservoir, resulted in massive flooding and displacement of settlements in about nine different district assemblies in the Volta and Eastern regions including North, Central and South Tongu District Assemblies, Asuogyaman, Shai Osudoku and Ada.
The flooding submerged the communities and displaced close to 15,000 people in the Volta, Eastern, and Greater Accra Regions.
On February 10, Mr Ablakwa and the First Sky Group inaugurated homes for 300 affected victims. While acknowledging the progress made in delivering homes to some victims, Mr Ablakwa emphasized that more action is needed to address the plight of the remaining affected people.
He also called for a parliamentary inquiry to look into this issue, noting that the scale of this devastation has not been seen before despite sporadic dam discharges since 1968.
