Flood Matters: Volta Regional Minister Prevented Mepe Traditional Council from Reading their Written Welcome Address to President Akuffo Addo

Philip Afeti Korto, A flood victim of Mepe

On Monday, October 16, 2023, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo visited the flood victims of Mepe Traditional Area and canvassed for votes in addition to telling them that he only went there because Ghanaians were suffering, and he must try to help but Mepe people do not vote for him. He added painfully, “…if it is a question of counting who votes for me and who doesn’t’ vote for me, I shouldn’t have been here [Mepe] because you [the people of Mepe] don’t vote for me.”

Perhaps what the public did not know was that the President made the chiefs wait for him for about five (5) hours before he arrived with helicopters from Accra. Another bad incident that must be told is that the Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa prevented the chiefs from reading their written speech because the government did not make much relief efforts to help the flood victims of Mepe and other affected communities. Some of us felt that the Regional Minister’s stifle of the Traditional Council’s speech meant that he sought to look good in the presence of his boss, the President. The Regional Minister was privy to the Traditional Council’s written speech hours before the President arrived. The briefings he gave to the President might have warranted those unsavory comments the President made to the flood victims.

For public knowledge and for the records, I reproduce below verbatim, the Mepe Traditional Council’s written speech that the Volta Regional Minister did not allow the chiefs to read.

Welcome Address by Torgbe Korsi Nego VI (Manklalo of Mepe) on behalf of the Mepe Traditional Council on the occasion of President Akuffo Addo’s Visit to the flood victims of Mepe on Monday, October 16, 2023

• His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana and Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces
• Honorable Ministers of State
• Honourable North Tongu DCE and other DCEs here present
• Hon. MP of North Tongu and other MPs here present
• VRA and NADMO Officials here present
• Security Agencies
• Health Authorities
• Benevolent individuals and organizations
• Members of the Media
• Members of the Mepe Traditional Council
• Torgbewo, Mamawo
• Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

This is a difficult time, a time of grief for the people of Mepe and other Tongu States affected by the devasting floods resulting from the VRA’s spillage of huge volumes of water at very high wave velocity from the Akosombo Dam downstream. As such, this is not a time for long speeches but as traditional and diplomatic protocols demand, we of Mepe Traditional Council deliver this speech to welcome the President of the Republic and his entourage to the flooded community of Mepe and to highlight some of the calamitous effects of the ongoing Akosombo Dam water spillage and its resultant floods.

On this note Your Excellency, you are warmly welcome to Mepe, our flooded abode at the moment where many homes, local businesses, schools, public toilets, waste damping sites, septic tanks, market squares, farms, cemeteries, telecommunication masts and many other areas which used to be dry lands are all submerged in water, and they continue to submerge.

A Brief Historical Account
We are aware Mr. President, that the construction of the Akosombo Dam started from 1961 to its completion in 1965. In 1963, many Tongu communities including Mepe, some communities in Eastern Region and Anlo lands in the Volta Region were submerged in the flood waters at the time.

Presently, the unfortunate history has repeated itself after 60 years. The VRA at the time indicated that the 1963 flooding of these communities was an error. Accordingly, the VRA Management at the time assured the affected communities that such an unfortunate flooding incident would not recur. Some compensations were paid at that time and various resettlement schemes were earmarked but all those did not come to fruition. Here we are again after 60 years Mr. President, and VRA has again submerged us in water with spillage from the Dam.

Current Situation
Mr. President, the current situation is very devasting as many settlements have submerged in water and many of our people are homeless and compelled to sleep in classrooms and open places at the mercy of mosquitoes, the weather, and reptiles due to VRA’s rapid spillage of water from the Akosombo Dam. Perhaps a gradual spillage of the water would not have led to this calamity.

We have become homeless and helpless presently because the Volta River, creeks and other water bodies had overflown their banks, chasing reptiles into our homes. The flood river and the waters are also highly contaminated. Accordingly, potable drinking water is a scarcity at Mepe, and hunger is setting in because most businesses and farms are well submerged in the high-volume flood waters. Mr. President, the homelessness, and the psychological trauma that we endure currently as flood victims cannot be underestimated.

Mr. President, schools have submerged in the flood waters so even our children’s academic progress has been halted. Presently Mr. President, most parts of the Mepe Traditional Area have been disconnected from the national grid to forestall electrocution in the flood waters. The temporary non-existent of electricity in those parts of Mepe equally affects our livelihood.

We are equally aware that other communities in Tongu such as Battor, Sokpoe, Tefle, Sogakope, Vume, Mafi and Bakpa are affected to the extent that the Comboni Catholic Hospital in Sogakope has been closed temporary due to the fear that the Hospital’s mortuary may soon submerge. We are also aware that the Sogakope or Lower Volta Bridge is getting submerged as some of its pillars are no longer visible.

Relief Efforts
Mr. President, it is unfortunate that so far, we have not received any relief items from NADMO and VRA hence presently we are only helping ourselves coupled with few supports from friends. We are in serious danger hence you have seen that Torgbewo and Mamawo have cladded in red bands.

We heard media reports that VRA and NADMO are distributing food, water and other relief items but we the traditional authorities and some flood victims are not aware of such items. Respectfully, we should be most grateful if we could be made aware as to who is responsible for the relief item distribution, where the distribution centres are located and when the distribution took place.

Mr. President, we therefore want the VRA and NADMO to address the following questions/concerns:

1. How much volumes of water will be spilled and for how long?
2. What are the evacuation, health and other relief plans in place in case the spillage continues?
3. Who is in charge of official updates of VRA, NADMO or government to address our concerns should the spillage continues?
4. Mr. President, we also want to know the long-term plans Government, VRA and NADMO have put in place to help us after the floods.

Appeal
Should the situation continue, and the entire community is submerged, we will not have any homes. Accordingly, Mr. President, we suggest that the Mepe community be resettled temporarily in the Saglemi Affordable Housing site. This is because the NADMO designated safe havens at Mepe are currently not easily accessible hence some flood victims had relocated to nearby communities in other traditional areas per a list attached to this speech.

We equally appeal for relief items such as food, water, toiletries, mobile toilets, medical items, temporary clinics, and schools for our children. Mr. President, we fear that there will soon be cholera and other water-borne disease outbreaks due to the contaminated flood waters.

Once again Mr. President, you are warmly welcome to Mepe our flooded community and we take this opportunity to appeal to you to come to our aide expeditiously. We are convinced that you will not just leave us in this difficult time where lives and properties are at stake. We believe that you will help us. Akpe.

Philip Afeti Korto
A flood victim of Mepe