ON March 31, this year, 100 stakeholders of the Volta River Basin converged on Sogakope in the Volta Region at the invitation of the South Tongu Fish Farmers Association (STFFA), to deliberate on the solution to the menace of aquatic weeds that had grown on the surface of Volta River.
The weeds have contributed to the decline in fortunes of the fishing industry and resulted in the emergence of diseases and migration of the labour force to perceived greener pastures.
In reality, before the construction of the Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam, the soil in the lower course of Volta River in Tongu, Ada, Mafi and other coastline communities was very fertile.
However, after the construction of the dam, the flow of water was regulated and flooding ceased. The ecosystem also became distorted leading to a drastic reduction in catches of all kinds of fish from the river.
More so, the emergence of the aquatic weeds has obstructed easy access to water for domestic use and this has resulted in the distruction of fishing nets as fishes breed under these weeds.
The area has also become the breeding ground for crocodiles, other dangerous reptiles and blood-sucking insects. Water-borne diseases have also increased while harvesting of shrimps, the oysters or clams, have declined. These have compounded the frustration and poverty of the people.
Aquatic weeds have placed the population of South Tongu and its adjoining districts at risk due to loss of income.
The weeds have also resulted in health hazards and caused migration of people aspecially the young ones and decline in tourism.
It is against these negative trends that the STFFA in collaboration with two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Ho, the Robert Ndor Memorial Project(RONJECT) and the Youth Development and Rural Empowerment Foundation (YODREF), with sponsorship from the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund, embarked on a forum to find out why the area had not benefited from the fallout of the construction of the Akosombo Dam.
Some people of the forum argued that the legal realities of Act 46 of 1961 that established the Volta River Authority (VRA) did not favour the Lower Volta Basin.
They, therefore, advocated the possibility of amending the law to include “the communities lying in the Lower Volta Basin” .
Topical of all was the consensus to establish a Lower Volta River Development Fund to serve as the focal point in tackling the neglect of residents of the Lower Volta Basin.
Currently, the authority is using research findings by the University of Ghana to improve the socio-economic well-being of the communities around the basin.
The authority also operates a well-equipped medical ship which provids free medical services to communities along the Volta Lake as well as dredging the estuary of the Volta River.
The objective is to reduce the incidence of bilharzia and restore the ecosystem. In addition, the authority is to undertake afforestation projects to restore vegetation on the highlands bordering the Volta Lake.
But whether these interventions have benefited the people in the lower course of the river was the bone of contention that generated the call for the establishment of a development fund for the area to turn round the fortunes of the people.
According to the Dufia of Adidome,Torgbui Kwasinyi Agyeman IV, the Tongu people and others on the Lower Volta Basin, accepted to be sacrificial lambs to facilitate the creation of the Akosombo and Kpong dams, but sadly the project had rather caused the impoverishment of the people.
He, therefore, stressed the need for sufficient budgetary allocation to reverse the sad situation, with the VRA acting as a catalytic agent to facilitate a dramatic turn in the plight of the people in the area.
The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode, said the forum was seeking a comprehensive, sustainable and co-ordinated actions to restore socio-economic viability to the area by creating jobs, reducing human capital flight and exploring more avenues for development.
He commended the initiative of the STFFA executive in particular and the entire stakeholders because they served as the spokespersons for all affected communities in the area.
The regional minister pledged the support of the government in achieving the laudable goals of the organisation.
The acting Director of Environment and Sustainable Development of the VRA, Mr Francis Komla Atubra, said every community in the basin was of concern to the authority but that environmental impact assessment on the dam projects was limited hence the emergence of the problem.
He, however, stated that the VRA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had made frantic efforts over the years to control the threat of the aquatic weeds.
Mr Atubra added that the VRA had introduced a programme to mobilise the communities to clear the weeds and had the aim of establishing a compost plant to make weed harvesting more profitable and to promote agriculture.
A Principal Programme Officer of the EPA, Mr Carl Fiati, stated that water weeds could have emerged on the Volta River even without the construction of the two hydroelectric dams, since changes in hydrology were the causes.
According to him, an estimated $11 million was needed to mechanically remove the weeds spanning over 5,000 hectares and suggested a little tax on electricity tariffs to raise funds for the proposed development fund.
Whatever circumstance that has prevailed in the Volta Basin for almost 50 years now, it is quite evident that the people in the southern sector have been relatively neglected.
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