The Mepe Development Association (MDA) has slammed remarks made by Freda Prempeh, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, in which she accused the indigenous people of Mepe and other towns downstream of the Volta River of disobeying evacuation orders prior to the Akosombo Dam spilling.
The MDA claimed that the Minister’s remarks were apathetic, ill-informed, and insulting toward the Mepe people, who have suffered much as a result of the disastrous floods, in a statement that was made public on Tuesday.
In addition, the MDA disputed the Minister’s assertions that Mepe residents had been geared up for the leakage through simulation exercises carried out by the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and the Volta River Authority (VRA).
“We wish to make it clear that the Mepe Traditional Council, Mepe Development Association, opinion leaders, and all key stakeholders were not engaged in any simulation exercise or post-simulation exercise as claimed by the Minister,” parts of the statement sighted by 1Family Radio read.
Speaking on Monday at a seminar hosted by Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and its clients in Accra, Freda Prempeh attributed the degree of the devastation caused by the Akosombo dam leak to the locals’ refusal to evacuate.
“The Akosombo dam spillage, even though the Volta River Authority, the National Disaster Management Organization, and the Water Resources Commission came together to educate the people in the community and did simulation exercises with them even at Mepe, yet they refused to leave. They did not want to be evacuated, and they stayed there till the end when we started spilling,’’ she said.
“Unfortunately, look at what is happening, and the government has to spend millions of dollars on relief items and education. The water in the whole area is contaminated, and the Ghana Water Company and Water Resources Commission will have to spend millions of dollars to treat the water before we can pass it through our pipes,’’ Freda Prempeh added.
Source: 1Familyradio