Ada West District assembly members call for a permanent solution to tidal waves

Assembly members in the Ada West District of the Greater Accra Region whose electoral areas settle along the coastline have expressed dismay over how successive governments neglected communities ravaged by the sea despite many calls on the governments to salvage the situation.

According to them, the high current from the sea annually moves over its bank to submerge the towns, destroying properties and leaving the residents of the communities in fear and danger.

The assembly members who revealed that the situation is unpredictable as it occurs periodically have entreated the current government to channel the state’s resources into constructing a sea defence in the coastline communities.

Speaking in an interview with Ahuakese Joseph Rockson Mawusuor, the assemblyman for Lolonya Electoral Area, the government does not consider curbing the situation despite the government's knowledge about the suffering of victims in the terrible situation experienced yearly.

“At Lolonya particularly, the sea has gradually washed away the vast shore so it easily flows to the bare land occupied by the people. It is unfortunate to see people displayed off from their rooms every year yet the state is mute over this,” he narrated.

He continued that the challenge in its occurring times adversely affects economic activities in the area, subjecting the victims to several hardships.

“Both men and women survive on fishing which is the main occupation of my people. Anytime the sea ravages the town, the fishermen usually have their canoes destroyed by the sea wave while business engagement comes to a halt. This is also a sad moment to watch,” he described.

Asked about the steps of the district relating to their challenge, Ahuakese Rockson confirmed that: “The Ada West District is a baby assembly and the crisis is also beyond individual effort to remedy. I will want the government to expedite its steps to find a permanent solution to our problem.”

Relatively, the assemblyman for the Akplabanya Electoral Area, Wilfred Ahuma Ocansey, recalled that the ravage usually occurs from June to August adding that they are not very far from the predicament if they will not be lucky this year as well.

Narrating their ordeal, he revealed that the tidal wave had destroyed many houses along the coast forcing the affected people to relocate far from the sea in the same town.

“As we usually experience, some houses that were previously sited far away from the shore have now been destroyed through the wipeout of the sea. This has forced the owners to spend money to relocate to other places in the same town,” he said.

Wilfred Ahuma Ocansey also expressed disappointment in political parties using the tidal wave predicament affecting the coastline communities as a political message in election years but later turned to ignore the communities.

Asked if relocating the community is the best option, he said, the government cannot relocate the entire Akplabanya community or other affected communities along the coastline away from their present locations as a means to save the occupants.

“We don’t farm, and we don’t mine salt as well. Our main work is fishing, and relocating this community to a new settlement means we need to start a new life which looks quite impossible because we have settled here for years and depended on the fishing job as a way to survive,” he stated.

Wilfred Ahuma Ocansey emphasised that the construction of the sea defence remains the community’s major priority in the face of other social infrastructures the town lacks citing that the people indirectly pay tax to the government hence they deserve a service.

“We pay indirect tax to the government through buying fuel for our fishing jobs. We also do the same through road tolls and market tolls, so we deserve attention in this challenge,” he opined.

The Ada West District coastline communities were part of other communities in the Western and Volta Region submerged from the ravages of the tidal wave in April 2022 after the high current from the sea went above its banks displaying many residents out of their comfort zones.