The Volta River Authority (VRA) released water from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams, causing a flood. According to Dr. Kwabena Donkor, a member of parliament for Pru East, this tragedy will certainly affect agriculture and result in food shortages in Ghana.
It is essential to consider the possible effect on food security, he said, as the floods near the Volta Lake destroyed a number of crops.
After Energy Minister Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh had briefed the House on the flood situation, participating in a debate on the floor of parliament, he said the “issues go beyond just the spillage of water.”
Dr. Opoku Prempeh stated that, apart from controlling the leakage from the dam, it also led to saving lives of people.
“The controlled spillage led to the preservation of lives, the Akosombo Dam and Sogakope Bridge,” he said as he briefed the Parliament on Wednesday, November 8, regarding the water leakage from the VRA’s dams, which resulted in flooding in certain areas of the Volta Region.
“Thankfully no death has been recorded,” he emphasized.
He further said that should the need arise, the VRA would spill once more.
“We are still observing the inflows and if it becomes necessary we will spill. If the VRA had not been proactive, the water would have overtopped the dam which would have had unimaginable catastrophe on the people,…spillage was the only option to ensure the safety of the dam.”
Recall that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the VRA, Mr. Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa, stated that the size of the spill was caused by the lake receiving inflows that were higher than anticipated.
“We are on phase II [of the spillage] right now and it is a cycle. It is normal at this time of the year for us to experience inflows. The difference is that we are getting more than expected and to safeguard this dam means that we have to spill water, that is the standard operation for any hydro dam but the inflows that we are seeing now are in excess.
“Definitely, as the cycle goes through this will recede so we are hoping it will recede in the next time,” he told journalists on Thursday, October 12.
“The spilling may continue even though we are anticipating that the levels may drop down to phase 1, which was started on September 15 but of course, we did not have much excess as we are seeing now, this is an emergency as we have seen from the beginning.
“Whether dredging or no dredging it is an emergency. The volume of water that is coming into the lake right now which we have to throw out, it means that we need to evacuate people from wherever they are to ensure they are safe until the inflows recede,” he added.
Due to accusations that the VRA neglected its duties in the Lower Volta Basin, communities were severely impacted by floods brought on by spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams.
Source: Marzuuq Issah | Ghana360news,.com
