Reports and images of Ghana’s Akosombo Hydroelectric dam, within a foot from the breakpoint and towns already flooded to destroy homes and people, looks at desperation point.
Solutions must be found and found immediately. That is what engineers do! Let me propose something!
Ghana has hundreds of thousands of acreage of potential farm land that often lack irrigation water. We have in the past borrowed hundreds of millions and more than a billion dollars for farm projects that have not produced expected results!
PROPOSED SOLUTION:
Let’s think of a long term solution to this excessive rain and water occurring side by side with thirsty dry land! Let’s study the state of California, USA. This is the largest Agricultural state producing more than 400 fruits and crops and generating more than $50 billion annually in economic .
The agricultural land exceeds 9 million acres and uses both natural surface water such as rivers and lakes (which are inadequate), as well as man-made aqueducts across hundreds of miles of land.
Ghana has plenty of excessive unused labor. We should employ the labor and plenty of idle equipment to build long aqueducts and aquifers across the northern, Upper East, Upper West and other regions as needed to divert water from the main rivers that feed the Dam. It should not take long to build these Canals and aqueducts! The Ghana military as well as unemployed manpower can be employed almost immediately to solve this dam and overflow problem.
This is called solving our own problems. This does not demand massive loans and hence back pay to politicians! Let’s get serious and now!
Long live Ghana!
By Dr. Kwaku A. Danso, M.Eng., PhD. dansojfk@gmail.com
- President- Ghana Leadership Union (GLU).