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Annual Bagre Dam Spillage — A Blessing or Curse?
For many farming communities scattered along the White and Black Volta basins, the rainy season brings both promise and peril — a time when the blessings of rainfall merge with the dread of annual flooding triggered by the spillage of Burkina Faso’s Bagre Dam.
A few weeks ago, officials in Ouagadougou confirmed what residents in Northern Ghana had long feared — the controlled release of water from the Bagre reservoir.
While the measure is necessary to prevent the dam’s collapse, it has for decades spelled destruction downstream, leaving Ghana’s northern regions counting their losses year after year.
The story is all too familiar. Entire fields of maize, rice, and groundnuts vanish beneath raging waters. Mud-walled houses crumble under the force of the floods, while roads connecting villages disappear, schools close, and classrooms are turned into makeshift shelters for displaced families.
The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) rushes in with mattresses, blankets, and bags of rice, but the relief items, though vital, are often insufficient compared to the magnitude of devastation. In Yagaba, for instance, some victims reportedly received no support at all due to limited resources.
“This year, at least there was some education on resilience and preparedness,” said Issah Yakubu, a farmer from the North East Region who lost his crops in last year’s floods. “But when the water comes, we lose everything — maize, rice, groundnuts. When it goes, there’s nothing left to eat or sell,” he lamented.
NADMO continues to urge residents in flood-prone areas across the Upper East, North East, Savannah, and Northern Regions to relocate to safer grounds. But for many, relocation is not an option. Their livelihoods are tied to the fertile riverbanks; abandoning their farms would mean abandoning the only source of income they know.
Last year alone, thousands of people were displaced across northern Ghana due to flooding.
Yet, amidst the destruction lies an irony. The same floods that wreak havoc also deposit nutrient-rich silt on farmlands, making them fertile for dry-season farming.
Agricultural experts argue that, with proper irrigation systems and government support, these communities could turn disaster into opportunity. “The spillage is both a challenge and a blessing,” said rice farmer, Aziz Zakaria. “If we had irrigation schemes, we could use this same water to grow crops in the dry season. The water that destroys can also sustain us,” he added.
Some have argued that the long-promised solution lies in the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam in the Upper East Region — envisioned to serve as a buffer for excess water from Bagre, generate electricity, and irrigate thousands of hectares of farmland.
However, delays in implementation have left communities trapped in a yearly cycle of loss and recovery.
Civil society organisations have repeatedly called for a shift from relief-based interventions to long-term resilience strategies — strengthening infrastructure, empowering communities, and developing sustainable livelihoods.
The broader picture is even more concerning. With the global climate crisis intensifying, rainfall patterns across the Sahel have become increasingly erratic. Burkina Faso’s dam managers are often compelled to spill earlier, or even multiple times in a single season, to protect the integrity of the Bagre Dam.
The result is an unpredictable flood cycle that leaves Ghana’s northern communities living in constant fear and their futures washed away by forces beyond their control.
As the waters rose once again this year, displacing countless innocent families, one truth remains undeniable: until proactive measures are taken ahead of the next season, the Bagre Dam spillage will continue to shift from a yearly natural occurrence to what is truly a slow-motion, man-made disaster.
By Geoffrey Buta, Tamale
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The Ghana Tourism Development Company Limited (GTD) in collaboration with the Department of Organisation and Human Resource Management, University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) has marked the 2026 World Safety Day Celebration in Accra.
The event held on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 at the Cedi Conference Centre, Legon was under the theme “Good Psychosocial Working Environment: A Pathway to Thriving Workers and Strong Organizations.”
The day is observed globally to promote safe and healthy working conditions and to raise awareness about both physical and psychological risks at the workplace.
The event formed part of efforts by stakeholders to deepen national conversations on workplace safety, particularly the growing concern about psychosocial well being.
In his keynote address, the Minister for Labour, Jobs and Employment, Dr Abdul Rashid Hassan Pelpuo stressed that workers must not be treated as machines but as human beings with dignity, rights and families.
He explained that unsafe work environments marked by fear, harassment, intimidation and excessive pressure reduce productivity and weaken organisations.
He noted that although physical hazards such as faulty equipment and unsafe buildings remain a concern, psychological risks including excessive workload, bullying, job insecurity and toxic communication are equally dangerous and must be addressed.
According to him, psychological hazards are real, measurable and preventable, and should be treated with the same urgency as physical risks.
He maintained that safe and healthy working conditions are not a luxury but a fundamental right that supports productivity and social justice.
Dr Pelpuo further stated that the government remains committed to strengthening occupational safety and health systems, adding that worker wellbeing is a core responsibility of leadership and not a public relations issue.
He urged employers to create environments where dignity is protected, and workers are empowered to speak without fear.
The Dean of University of Ghana Business School, Prof Ernest Y Tweneboah Koduah noted that the school is committed to shaping a better world of work that is equitable, productive and sustainable.
He announced that the school has secured accreditation from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission to introduce a programme in organisational health and safety.
He explained that gaps in workplace safety in Ghana are linked to weak enforcement, underreporting and limited professional training.
He added that the new programme will equip graduates with the skills to prioritise employee wellbeing as a key organisational responsibility.
Prof Tweneboah Koduah urged organisations to assess psychosocial risks, invest in human resource capacity and create environments where workers can openly discuss mental health concerns.
He emphasised that collaboration between academia and industry is essential to addressing workplace safety challenges.
Delivering remarks on behalf of the Vice Chancellor, the Registrar of the University of Ghana, Emelia Naa Kwantsua Agyei Mensah described the event as historic, noting that it is the first time the university is marking the global observance.
She explained that the focus on psychosocial wellbeing reflects current realities in the world of work.
She stated that employee health, including mental and emotional wellbeing, directly affects productivity, morale and institutional performance.
Mrs Agyei Mensah added that the university is committed to creating a safe and supportive environment for staff and students, beyond minimum legal requirements.
She called on leaders to reflect on the kind of workplaces they create and to prioritise the wellbeing of employees.
CEO of the GTDC, Prof Kobby on his part noted that its participation aligns with its commitment under the Riyadh Declaration, which calls on member states to improve infrastructure and public safety, as well as enhance services, transport, connectivity and accessibility.
He indicated that the company intends to use the platform to highlight Ghana’s readiness to implement the declaration, with a strong focus on worker safety and wellbeing as a foundation for sustainable tourism development.
The event brought together policymakers, academics, industry players and students to discuss strategies for improving workplace safety and promoting healthier work environments across the country.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Minister for Energy, John Abdulai Jinapor, has praised engineers and technical teams working to restore electricity after a fire at the Akosombo Substation disrupted power supply.
He said this after visiting the facility on Monday night to assess ongoing repair works following the incident, which affected the control room and caused the loss of more than 1,000 megawatts of power to the national grid.
During the visit, he interacted with engineers and technicians who have been working continuously under difficult conditions to restore operations.
He said he was impressed by their dedication, courage, and professionalism despite the challenges.
The minister commended the teams for their resilience and sacrifice, noting that their efforts reflect a strong sense of duty and commitment to national service.
He assured them of the government’s full support as they continue with the restoration work.
He also assured the public that authorities are doing everything possible to restore stable electricity supply as soon as possible.
By: Jacob Aggrey
