The Volta Regional House of Chiefs (VRHC) has launched a disaster relief fund with a seed amount of GH¢50,000 to support victims of the floods caused by the spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong dams.
“This is in line with our role as leaders to map out strategies to help the afflicted,” the President of the VRHC, Togbe Tepre Hodo IV, said.
He said apart from the Tongu areas which were the hardest hit, there was not enough attention on other affected places in the region such as the North and South Dayi districts.
Togbe Hodo said the seed money was taken directly from the welfare fund of the VRHC.
“We are highly concerned about the plight of the victims, and we are committed to their wellbeing,” he added.
Togbe Hodo, who is the Paramount Chief of Anfoega, said apart from rendering a massive number of people homeless, the floods had also affected businesses and livelihoods, creating an uncertain future for the people, as evident in the submerged hotels and farms.
Spillage
Meanwhile, Togbe Hodo insisted that the Volta River Authority (VRA) could not escape blame for the flood situation, saying the deluge was largely due to the failure of the authority to dredge the Volta estuary to facilitate the swift flow of the spillage into the sea.
“For that matter, we will seek the appropriate vindication of the rights of the people,” the President of VRHC hinted.
Togbe Hodo commended the First Sky Group for the generous donation of relief items to the flood victims, saying that was a touching, philanthropic and patriotic gesture worthy of emulation by public-spirited individuals and organisations.
He said an even more pathetic aspect of the disaster was how children could no longer go to school, and that, he said, should attract the attention of all and sundry.
The Paramount Chief of Klefe, Togbe Kwaku Dzaga, said the disaster required immediate attention without any form of politicking.
He said donations in the form of building materials and clothes would also be fitting contributions towards the relief of the afflicted.
He urged public-spirited individuals and organisations to contribute to the disaster relief fund held in an account at the GCB Bank, with number 5011010044320, adding that a Mobile Money account would also be made available soon for that purpose.
Current situation
More than 35,000 people have been displaced in nine districts in the Volta, Eastern and Greater Accra regions since the VRA started the spillage of the two dams last month.
Indeed, many communities have been totally submerged, along with farms, houses and other property, while basic schools in the affected areas have been shut completely at the moment.
Families are putting up in relief camps, many of them in tents, in one of the severest humanitarian crises confronting the country.
