Akosombo Dam Spillage: Researcher Believes Displaced Persons Will Not Consider Resettlement

• Dr Benjamin Ofori, a researcher, has told YEN.com.gh that Ghana needs to curb housing developments in flood-prone areas
• Dr Ofori noted that victims of the Akosombo spillage disaster are unlikely to want to leave the flood-prone areas they live
• The researcher urged the government to learn from the recent devastation caused by the flooding from the dam spillage

A Senior Researcher with the Institute of Environmental and Sanitation Studies, Dr Benjamin Ofori, said the challenge of building in flood-prone areas needs to be addressed as a general solution to the impact of flooding from the Akosombo dam spillage.

He told YEN.com.gh that the government must take profound lessons from the devastation in parts of the lower Volta basin that has displaced thousands.

Regarding settlements, Dr Ofori noted that the local government needed to seriously tap into the expertise of indigenes in flood-prone areas who understood the safe places for development.

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“The old folks, they knew the safer areas. They knew the safe zones.... we can depend on that as well as a way of mitigating the effects of flooding and reducing the risk of people coming under threat.”

People unlikely to move from flood-prone areas

Dr Ofori said he does not expect displaced persons to take kindly to any relocation talk.

He believes the persons affected by the floods will follow global trends and return to live in the flood-prone areas until the next disaster.

"What happens is that they move away on a temporary basis so that when the flood waters reduce, they return to where they were.”

"I wouldn’t be surprised that when the water level goes down, people will return to where they were. That has been the normal pattern, and that has been the trend," the researcher explained.

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Flooding from Akosombo Dam spillage

YEN.com.gh reported that affected persons have been ruing their losses after heavy rains and the spillage of the dam.

Homes have been flooded in the three Tongu districts, while tilapia farms near the riverbanks have notably been destroyed.

Akufo-Addo faces backlash over comments to victims

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported that President Akufo-Addo was criticised over some remarks on the Akosombo Dam spillage victims.

The President said if it were about which community voted for him, he wouldn't be there to sympathise with them.

However, on social media, many Ghanaians felt that comment was unnecessary, although a few saw nothing wrong with it.

Support for affected farmers

Farmers affected by the spilling of Akosombo and Kpong dams will benefit from $40 million in support.

The support money is coming from the World Bank-funded Food Systems Resilience Programme.

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The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, announced this monetary support for farmers devastated.

Source: YEN.com.gh