A convener of the Arise Ghana movement has aligned with the calls made by several civil society groups and Ghanaians urging the government to relocate the victims of the Akosombo Dam spillage to the unfinished Saglemi Housing Project.

According to Mr. Bernard Mornah, these nearly completed houses would offer a more suitable alternative to the current living conditions of the displaced victims. He stressed that the government bears full responsibility for the plight of the people in the Volta Region and should therefore take significant measures to alleviate their suffering.

Mr. Mornah expressed these views during an appearance on the JoyNews AM Show.

“It is government’s decision to spill and government went around saying they did stakeholder engagement. You are asking people to move and evacuate. They should move to where? Have you made any alternative arrangements? Evidently, the government failed. Now you are telling me that I should relocate, so I should relocate to where?

“Even the chiefs have said we were swept away by the water, give us Saglemi houses so that we can live there. Saglemi housing is over 90 % complete in some of the areas. Those places will even serve as five-star hotels for the people given their current state of living and if you are failing to do that and you are failing to declare a state of emergency one will think that government is deliberately punishing the people for no crime of theirs particularly when the President said they have not been voting for him. So I will conclude that for not voting for the NPP, this is your punishment.”

Housing project

Mr. Mornah's statement is in line with the numerous pleas from individuals and various organizations for the government to contemplate the permanent relocation of the victims.

Many have argued that, given the housing project's capacity and proximity, it represents the most viable solution. However, the government has not yet responded to this request.

Addressing this matter, the former People's National Convention (PNC) National Chairman suggested that the government's handling of the situation appears to be influenced by partisan considerations.

“We are being partisan in this particular instance because politics is about the general well-being of our society but in this instance partisanship has taken place, where the President can utter that you have not been voting for me, but I know one day you will vote for me.

"In crisis of this nature the President is thinking about future votes and not thinking about the conditions of our people, then it has moved from being political to the realm of being extremely partisan to inflicting more harm and pain on the suffering people of the Volta Region.”

Bernard Mornah also emphasized the necessity for the government to declare a state of emergency.

"In such circumstances, no one should come and tell you to declare a state of emergency. In declaring a state of emergency, it also brings international attention on you and given the fact that NaDMO in particular is under-resourced then we can use that to launch an international appeal to support our brothers and sisters to overcome their current situation.

"Failing to do that means, that we deliberately did this. We deliberately did the spilling of the water and knew that the volumes will consume our people in the manner that it has and that is why government is not ready to declare a state of emergency," he added.

On September 15, the Volta River Authority (VRA) initiated the release of excess water due to rising levels at the Akosombo and Kpong hydro dams.

Several weeks after the spillage began, numerous residents residing along the Lower Volta Basin have witnessed the loss of their homes and farmlands to the floods brought about by the spillage.

At present, nine districts are grappling with the impact of the swift-moving spillage, and the people living in these areas are confronting a significant humanitarian crisis.

Communities like Battor, Tefle, Mepe, Sogakope, Adidome, and Anlo have been submerged, with their existence nearly engulfed by the relentless floodwaters.

It's important to note that this year's spillage exercise is not the first time that the VRA has released water from the Akosombo Dam. Similar exercises, per reports, were carried out in 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, and 1991, with the most recent one taking place in 2010. These releases were made to prevent water from overflowing the dam.