The Chief Executive Officer of the InterCity State Transport Corporation, Nana Akomea, has called on all Ghanaians to join forces in a national endeavor to provide relief support to the victims affected by the Akosombo dam spillage. Addressing the media, Nana Akomea proposed that the government should launch a nationwide appeal, urging every Ghanaian to contribute to assisting the victims.

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"We must appeal for international assistance because it is a national emergency, it has to be a national effort; everybody contributes something small. It is not their fault that this disaster has happened to them. Unfortunately, the country hasn't got all the resources…So, it's a huge national effort. "We should appeal for international assistance.We should launch a national appeal.

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Many many Ghanaians would contribute to it" to help remedy the situation, ," he appealed.Nana Akomea stressed that while President Akufo- Addo has pledged the government's support to the victims, addressing this challenge requires a collective effort that goes beyond government resources."We should launch a national appeal. Many many Ghanaians would contribute to it" to help remedy the situation, he stressed.

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He appealed to all Ghanaians to support the government, underscoring that the victims are fellow citizens, and such disasters could potentially affect anyone in the future. He highlighted the necessity of launching a national appeal, expressing confidence that numerous Ghanaians would contribute to alleviating the situation.

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"There are so many settlements downstream that the spillage hasn't affected yet but immediately, we have to evacuate all of them because the water is still flowing.

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We have to resettle them temporarily and maybe in another two/three weeks when the water dries up, the reconstruction, the people who have lost their properties; they need support to replace [those] their household gadgets, carpets, furniture, electronic, disinfectants…So, it's a huge effort that has to be done," he appealed.

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The Akosombo dam spillage has led to the displacement of at least 26,000 people living along the lower Volta Basin, causing the submersion of their homes and valuable assets. Meanwhile, the Volta River Authority (VRA) has warned that Tema and its surrounding areas within the Greater Accra Region, may face significant risk should the water level of the Akosombo Dam exceed its operational capacity.

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Speaking to the media, Deputy Chief Executive of the VRA, Edward Obeng Kenzo, disclosed that the current water level of the dam stands at 277.26 feet, while its maximum operational level is 277.5 feet.He added that going beyond this operational level could jeopardize the dam’s integrity, potentially leading to a massive release of water that could engulf areas along the Volta River all the way to Tema.

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To prevent any unforeseen disaster, the VRA has indicated that it will be necessary to continue releasing water from the dam if the water level continues to rise.“We don’t want to spill any additional volume of water. We are tracking and with the data, we believe that we may not spill any volume of water. But if there should be any unexpected heavy rains into the dam, we’ll be compelled to spill. Where we are now, we are around 277.

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26 feet of water behind the dam. The dam’s operational level is 276, the maximum allowable operational level of the dam is 277.5 feet.”“So we are left with only about 0.24 feet to get to that maximum operational level of the dam. So any level beyond this, we are putting the dam’s integrity at risk.

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If the dam should break, the volume of water that will come out of the dam – all those along the banks of the river, all the way to somewhere around Tema will be wiped into the sea. No human being will be saved, no structure will be saved, nothing will be saved,” Mr Kenzo said.

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