Tidal waves: Relocation is not the best option - Bawah Mogtari

Special aide to former President Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari has added her voice to the call on the government to, as a matter of urgency protect lives in the Volta Region by constructing and extending the sea defense levee to prevent the encroachment of the sea on their land and livelihoods.

She said the suggestion for the relocation of the people to the higher and safer ground is neither here nor there because the entire Volta Region is bordered on the coast “so relocating from point A will just lead you to point B”.

Mrs. Mogtari reiterated the point that there must be advocacy and education on practices that will allow man and the sea to coexist without the challenges currently facing the country in respect of the tidal waves on the communities in the Volta Region.

She said this is a wake-up call that affords the country the opportunity to address the looming danger in the country and that government will consider the call by acting on time to protect the lives of the people who live along the coast.

Mrs. Mogtari criticized the ineffectiveness of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) for basic needs like temporary shelter, disposable toilet facilities, and healthcare for the affected communities.

“I believe NADMO itself is currently facing some serious financial constraints. I have seen NADMO in the past and I have seen their response teams and the level of their response. I think this one has largely been muted because if you even listen to the Member of Parliament and even the chief who spoke if they have received even a visit by some high-level government delegation, even that would have given them a certain modicum of comfort but it seems there is a certain dereliction of duty under the circumstances,” she said.

She charged that the country is overemphasising the value of food rather than what the people really need to ease their plight in their current straits against what NADMO is giving them in the region.

Mrs. Mogtari said if the government had cut down on some of the profligate spendings in the country, the government would have come up with the $600 million to complete the construction of the sea defense levee in the affected communities in the Volta Region.

She made this call in an interview with Berla Mundi on the New Day on TV3, Friday, November 12, on the back of the tidal waves that have affected communities like Keta and its environs, rendering about 4000 people homeless and destroying properties in the process.

“So relocating is one thing, where are you relocating them to? Because along the whole of the Volta really is a whole coastal environment so relocating from point A will just take you to point B. I think for now what we need to do is first and foremost ensure that we are protecting human lives. I think that the sea defence should be extended like former President Rawlings spoke about and then we should take it from there,” she called on the government.