Dam Spillage: Parliament will summon VRA to come and brief us on the incident – Majority Leader

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has said it is important as a house to invite the Volta River Authority to come and fully brief parliamentarians on the spillage of the impounded water in Akosombo.

Speaking to the parliamentary press corps, Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu added that their discussion with the VRA will enable them to ask questions on how to avoid such disasters in the future.

The majority leader explained that they will have a dialogue with the Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, to discuss how the best parliament can assist the victims.

The lawmaker said the incident occurred while the house was in recess.

According to him, the spillage caused flooding in some communities, and some farmlands were destroyed.

He said that although we were expecting a bountiful harvest from our farmlands, the spillage and the flooding situation have caused flooding in the affected communities.

He lamented that the situation will certainly compound the food situation in the country, and the hope is that it will not lead to skyrocketing food prices to add to the high levels of food inflation in the country.

“However, because of the fear of breaching the dam, the VRA caused a controlled spillage of the dam. Even though it was controlled spillage, because of the heavy rainfalls, even the communities down south to the dam were already flooded, so the spillage of the impounded water has added to the troubles of those living downstream. People have lost property, houses, vehicles, livestock, and even life. And crops have also been lost, and certainly, it is going to contribute to the impoverishment of the people down south.”

He stressed that it was important for the house to invite VRA over what had happened and find ways to prevent a repetition of what had happened.