Private legal practitioner, Kofi Bentil, is wondering why the Volta River Authority (VRA) did not spill water from the Akosombo Dam over a longer period.
In his view, allowing the dam to overfill caused the flood in the affected communities.
“Is VRA guilty of criminal Negligence by allowing the dam to overfill, leading to massive spilling in a short time thus causing the floods? Why didn’t they start spilling earlier over a longer period?” He asked in a Facebook post.
The VRA was accused of causing the ‘man-made’ disaster. For instance, North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said he was in talks with lawyers for a possible lawsuit against the VRA for the flood.
“We’re in talks with our lawyers,” he said on the Hot Edition 3FM Friday, October 20.
He further said it was only a miracle that no life was lost in the flood and further acknowledged the work done by the youth of the affected communities in helping the rescue mission.
The Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu also served notice that officials of the Volta River Authority (VRA) would be invited to Parliament to provide answers to questions on the spillage of water.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said that he believed officials of the VRA had questions to answer.
“I believe we may need to find answers to some questions. The Speaker is not yet here when the Speaker comes, we will have some discussions with him and I believe it is important for us to invite VRA to come and fully brief the House about what has been happening, the repercussions, and how to avoid any future such events,” he told journalists in Parliament on Tuesday, October 31.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the VRA, Mr Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa said that the lake was experiencing inflows more than expected hence the spillage of that magnitude.
“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.
“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.
The VRA was accused of neglecting its responsibilities in the Lower Volta Basin hence the huge impact of flood caused by spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams on communities.
Meanwhile, the VRA says it has officially ended the spillage of excess water from the Akosombo Dam.
The spillage, described as controlled by the Authority, began on Friday, September 15.
Residents of areas around the Dam were warned to move to higher grounds ahead of the spillage, which ran concurrently with that of Kpong Dam.
However, areas around the Lower Volta River were flooded during the over one-month spillage, devastating homes and leaving thousands displaced.
This forced officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) as well as the military to move in to offer relief efforts.
Among the districts hard hit are North Tongu, Central Tongu, and South Tongu.
Several organisations including Media General mobilised relief efforts for the thousands of victims.
In a statement issued by its Corporate Affairs and External Relations Unit on Monday, October 30, the Authority announced the end of the spillage of excess water.
“The end of the controlled spillage notwithstanding, VRA is committed to continuing its relief and rehabilitation efforts until lives and livelihoods are restored,” it indicated.
“VRA wishes to take this opportunity to acknowledge the various Government agencies and stakeholders for their support to impacted communities.”
Already, the Authority has devoted GH¢20 million to alleviate the plight of the people who have been affected by the flood that was caused by excess water spillage from the Akosombo Dam.
Source: 3news
