The Ada East District office of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has met with members of communities that were affected by the recent river and sea waves.
Mr Ebenezer Teye-Nartey Kisseh, the Ada East District NADMO officer, toured the communities to get an overview of what happened and the way forward.
Mr. Kisseh, responding to issues raised by the people on the dredging of the river, disclosed that the government had already captured it in the budget, emphasising that the government had given the Volta River Authority (VRA) power over the river; therefore, anything concerning it will be handled as soon as possible.
“We had meetings with the VRA, and they have the dredging in the pipeline, so, we are hoping that they will do it as soon as possible; therefore, it is not the mandate of the district assembly or NADMO to dredge the river,” he stated.
Mr. Agudey Teyekpiti, an elder of the community, said residents had over the years tried their best to convince the District Assembly to release their share of the Community Development Fund, which was gotten from the sale of premix fuel, to enable them to create an embankment along the river bank, but were yet to be successful with it.
According to him, the said fund would have also aided them in dredging the river to prevent such flooding.
He disclosed that even though the District Assembly has proposed to build a CHPS compound with the Community Development Fund for them, they see it as the least of their problems compared to the perennial flooding.
The community leaders indicated that they were eager to dredge the river by themselves, stating that they had already contacted a businessman in the area to assist with his dredging machine, to which he had agreed.
They, however, said that the fuel cost of the machine was what had delayed them, adding that they were now relying on the benevolence of non-governmental organisations and volunteers to embark on the project.
Meanwhile, when the Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited the area, it was observed that the water had receded and parts of the land were drying up, making it possible for residents to continue with their daily activities.
GNA
LS/LAA
13 April 2024
