The University of Ghana branch of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has expressed its readiness to collaborate with the government in finding a long-term solution to the issue of flooding caused by the spillage of water from the Akosombo Dam.
The association believes that working with the university engineering department and relevant authorities, measures can be devised to manage water discharge to avoid the extensive flooding seen recently.
The Volta River Authority (VRA) is currently discharging excess water from the Akosombo and Kpong dams, resulting in severe flooding in downstream communities in the Eastern and Volta Regions. The affected individuals are requesting support after losing their homes and livelihoods.
“The long-term solution is to do a proper analysis of the volume of water that is coming in the dam by having various monitoring systems in place as a measure. We have a lot of civil engineers, structural engineers and environmental scientists who can help in designing systems to monitor the volume of water and calculate accurately how long and much the level is going to rise and the rate at which we need to make sure that we don’t even get to the dangerous levels that will affect the dam and also make sure that the volume of water is not too much to displace people from their settled homes,” he said.
In response to the flooding caused by the spillage of water from the Akosombo Dam, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has established a 13-member inter-ministerial committee.
This committee will be responsible for coordinating the government’s response to assist those affected by the flood. The flooding has resulted in significant damage to properties and displacement of people in affected communities.