President John Dramani Mahama has harshly warned the Volta River Authority (VRA) leadership that they will be fired or resigned if the catastrophic flooding from the Akosombo Dam occurs again, as it did in 2023.
To commemorate the first 120 days of his government, Mahama gave a nationwide speech on Wednesday, May 7, in which he emphasized the ongoing efforts to keep the tragedy from happening again.
Ing. Kirk Koffi, the former CEO of VRA, convened a technical group that was entrusted with looking into the incident and suggesting long-term mitigating measures, he revealed.
“This administration set up a committee chaired by Ing. Kirk Koffi, a former VRA CEO. The committee has recommended strategies to prevent future occurrences, including establishing what is called a controlled spill flood plan and implementing downstream engineering solutions for flood management,” Mahama said.
The President stressed the urgency of acting on these recommendations without delay.
“I have directed that the recommendations be implemented immediately,” he stated.
Underscoring the gravity of the matter, Mahama made it clear that the VRA leadership would be held accountable for any future lapses.
“I have further indicated that if they are not properly implemented and another destructive VRA flooding occurs like in 2023, the VRA CEO and deputies must resign or be sacked,” he declared.
Thousands of inhabitants were forced to relocate as a result of the Akosombo Dam spill in 2023, which also sparked extensive criticism for the lack of proper planning and emergency preparedness.
With this strong order, President Mahama made it clear that his government would be enforcing more stringent control and taking aggressive steps to manage Ghana’s hydroelectric infrastructure in the face of growing climate-related threats.
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