‘This is not partisan’—Weija-Gbawe MP pleads for flood relief

The Member of Parliament for Weija-Gbawe, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, has appealed for urgent state intervention to support residents displaced by flooding caused by the spillage of excess water from the Weija Dam.

Describing the situation as a humanitarian crisis, the MP called on the National Anti-Flood Task Force to immediately assist affected families, many of whom have been forced out of their homes as floodwaters continue to rise across several downstream communities.

“This is not partisan,” Mr Shaib said during a visit to the affected areas.

“We are talking about the lives of people who perhaps even voted for the government in power. All we need is to see how best they can be evacuated, how they can be supported, how they can be given some daily stipends to survive.”

Schools and businesses in communities including Tetegu, Oblogo and parts of Weija have been shut down as floodwaters inundated homes and submerged roads, leaving some areas accessible only by canoe.

Residents were seen wading through knee-deep to waist-high water in attempts to salvage furniture, mattresses, electrical appliances and food supplies from their homes.

Mr Shaib suggested that the intensity of the rains may have exceeded expectations, leading to pressure on the dam.

“Perhaps they didn’t do the monitoring well, or they didn’t expect this kind of rains,” he said.

“Because the conversation is that the rains came from the Nsawam Adoagyiri area, and then got into the dam. And obviously to protect the integrity of the dam, we had to do the spillage.”

The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has confirmed that the controlled spillage will continue until water levels recede to what it described as a safe operating level.

The company has also advised residents living downstream of the dam to evacuate vulnerable areas immediately in order to protect lives and property.

Across the affected communities, fear and uncertainty continue to grow as heavy rains persist and water levels show little sign of receding.

Residents say floodwaters have risen to window level in some homes, forcing families to relocate belongings to higher ground or seek temporary shelter elsewhere.

The sound of rushing water from nearby drains and the Densu River has further heightened anxiety among residents.

One resident, Kofi Darko, claimed that thousands of people had already been displaced by the flooding.

“About 5,000 people have been displaced by the spillage of the excess water from the dam,” he said.

“I started seeing the water levels rising just around yesterday at 12 p.m. I have been living here for the past five years and now we are worried that more water, excess water, there’s excess spillage of water from the dam and we’re scared that the area is going to get more flooded.”

Another resident, Nana Yaw Okyere, said he had joined efforts to help affected families move their possessions to safer locations.

“I don’t live in Weija but I’m actually here to help residents salvage their properties to higher ground,” he said.

He explained that many residents had been forced to move their belongings into storey buildings while others were unable to report to work because of the rapidly rising water levels.

Mr Shaib also recounted the difficult conditions confronting residents and volunteers in the area.

“Most of them are not moving. We had to actually feed from a woman who sells jollof. She’s not been able to send the jollof out there today,” he said.

Another resident, standing beside soaked mattresses and household belongings left outside in the rain, said he had unknowingly purchased land in a flood-prone area.

Praising the MP for providing food and assistance, he said: “Since yesterday it has rained and I can’t enter my room. I have stood outside without eating.

“Right now, it is MP who came and brought us food and is telling us to follow him. God bless him.”

With rainfall continuing in parts of Accra, residents fear the situation could deteriorate further if the dam spillage persists and water levels continue to rise.

المصدر: MyJoyOnline (GH)