National Democratic Congress (NDC) have apologised on behalf of President Akufo Addo for the “unfortunate” comments he made during his visit to the victims of the Akosombo Dam spillage.
“Let me also say that on behalf of the people of Ghana and the NDC, the minority in parliament wants to apologise to the people of the Volta region for the statement made by the president of the Republic of Ghana,” he apologised.
This apology follows Akufo-Addo’s statements, which implied that his presence at Mepe, one of the many affected areas in the Volta Region, was a result of the fact that he is president of Ghana, and as is expected of him, he is supposed to come through when his citizens are in distress.
“I came here because Ghanaians are having difficulties and suffering. And it is my responsibility to try and help.
“Because if it is the question of counting who votes for me and who doesn’t vote for me, I shouldn’t be here because you don’t vote for me. But that is not my concern. And in any event, one day you would vote for me and my party,” were the words of the president.
As many, including Members of Parliament (MPs) and others alike, are offering humanitarian aid and support to the victims, the Minority in Parliament on October 20, 2023, has done the same.
Minority leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, during the donation to the victims, expressed his disappointment over the president’s remarks upon his visit while the victims were in “pain”.
“Let me say that we are here as the NDC and on the authority of our leader, the former President John Mahama, to share in your pain and to make some few donations.
“On behalf of the NDC, we say we are truly sorry for what has happened to you. In your language, you’d say “babanami”.
“We consider the statement very unfortunate and this statement should not come from the father of the land. In times like this, it surprises us and we are really disappointed in the statement coming from his excellency, the president,” he fumed.
Akosombo Dam is a hydroelectric power plant that generates electricity from the Volta River. The dam has a reservoir that can store water up to a maximum level of 276 feet.
However, due to heavy rainfall in the upstream areas, the water level in the reservoir has been rising steadily, threatening to overflow the dam.
To prevent this, the Volta River Authority (VRA), which operates the dam, has been spilling excess water from the dam into the downstream areas.