Weija Dam Spillage Victims Count Losses

A day after hundreds of homes in some communities in the Ga South municipality had been submerged in water following the spillage of the Weija Dam by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), residents of those places are still counting their losses. A follow-up visit by the Daily Graphic to the areas which were affected by the floods revealed that most residents were still stranded. Even though the flood waters at some places were receding, residents continued to live in fear because they did not know when the spilling of water from the dam would end. Residents feared that with the future opening of the spill gate of the Weija Dam, coupled with the effects of heavy rains, the situation would be aggravated. It was also observed that communities along the Kasoa Old Barrier were gradually being submerged. Speaking to the Daily Graphic team, Mr James Tetteh said most houses at Glefe and its environs remained flooded. Plans to leave Many of the residents were seen clearing the filth left behind by the floods, washing their clothes and households items and cleaning up their homes for resettlement, while others were yet to pump out the water to enable them to have access to their homes. While some of the victims said they were planning to leave the vicinity for safer places until the situation normalised, others said they had nowhere to go. Other residents were also planning relocating. Some residents said apart from losing electrical appliances and clothing, important documents were also destroyed beyond recognition. The residents who spoke to the Daily Graphic appealed to the government to find a lasting solution to the problem, while in the interim it provide support for the victims. Other Observations During the follow-up visit, it was observed that most residents of Abase near Weija had vacated their homes, while others were sitting under trees in the Weija community, waiting for the situation to return to normalcy. Some residents said they realised that the spill gate of the Weija Dam had been closed later last Tuesday which stabilised the situation. According to them, water gradually flooded their homes later yesterday morning, even in the absence of the rains, a development which, to them, indicated that the Weija Dam spill gate had been opened again. At Oblogo, it was observed that the community football field and some houses had been totally submerged. Promise to remove sand banks Even though a Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing had promised last Tuesday that if the Tsokome community leaders did not allow the removal of the sand banks yesterday, stakeholders would be forced to invoke state powers, the sand banks were yet to be removed. The Public Relations Officer for the ministry, Abraham Otabil, said stakeholders had not completed deliberations to facilitate the removal of the sand banks. Along the Kasoa road, it was observed that some houses had totally been taken over by the spilled water from the Weija Dam.