The Volta River Authority (VRA) has engaged residents of Agbeve and surrounding communities in the South Tongu District of the Volta region, ahead of plans to begin dredging operations in the lower Volta river.
The community engagement was aimed at sensitizing residents along the river on the need to dredge the Volta river to allow for the easy flow of the water into the sea which was currently being hampered as a result of overgrown aquatic weeds in the river and sand bars on the river bed.
The community engagement became necessary after the residents raised concerns over the intended dredging activities, alleging that the VRA brought in foreign vessels to prospect for minerals and not to dredge the river as they were made to believe.
The residents later secured an injunction at a Sogakope high court restraining the VRA and Lower Volta Dredging Contractors from carrying out their operations.
They further secured an order from the same court compelling VRA and the contractors to engage the community so as to get them to understand the concept, which unfortunately was not done at the time the residents spotted the large dredging vessel on the river near their community in November, 2023.
Andreas Andoh, Senior Environmental Officer at the VRA, outlined some of the benefits associated with dredging the river which included easy and rapid flow of the river into the sea, the prevention of water borne diseases such as Bilharzia and River Blindness which were prevalent among residents living along the river.
He said the dredging would also increase the depth of the river as a result increasing the oyster and fish stock in the river which were two major sources of livelihood for the residents along the stretch of the Volta river.
Andoh alleyed the fears of the people assuring them that the dredging however was to be done in the main river from Akuse through Sogakope to the estuary at Ada and was no where close to the Angor river, a tributry close to the Agbeve community.
He appealed to the community to join efforts to dredge the river which he observed was in the general interest of the people.
Dr. Sylva Vortia, a native of the area who had been championing the cause of the local people, in a presentation on behalf of the residents, appealed to the VRA to halt its dredging operations in the Angor river a tributry of the Volta river which serves the Agbeve community.
According to Dr. Sylva, the Angor river was the only source of livelihood for the residents who were mostly fisherfolk and oyster harvesters who relied heavily on the river for survival.
He explained that the dredging activities which began late last year, but was put on hold following the court injunction was polluting the river and damaging the modern water treatment plant built by the community to supply clean drinking water to the residents, adding that it was also killing the oyster and fish stock in the river which was a risk to the livelihoods of the people.
Dr. Vortia said the community though small had engaged in many self help projects including modern classroom blocks for the Kindergarten, Primary and Junior High Schools, the construction of a modern water closet (WC) toilet facility among others and was hopeful that with self determination and communal service and spirit the community would be transformed into a Utopia and a model for other communities along the river.
Quoting page 171 of Prof. Dzodzi Tsikata’s book, “Living In The Shadow Of The Large Dams” Dr. Sylva blamed the VRA for not implementing several of the recommendations made to the Authority after the construction of the Akosombo Dam in 1965, and sunsequently the Akuse and the Bui Power Plants.
He called on the VRA to reasses its priorities and to ensure that the concerns raised by residents along the river were attended to in order not to aggravate their already dwindling socio-economic conditions.
By Leo Nelson || Ghananewsonline.com.gh