Editorial
Find Lasting Solution to Problems Associated with Bagre Dam Spillage
In last week’s issue of The Spectator, we carried a story headlined, “Annual Bagre Dam Spillage, a Blessing or a Curse?”
The story revealed that the spillage of the dam by the management of Burkina Faso has become a perennial challenge for many farming communities along the White and Black Volta basins in the northern part of Ghana.
While thousands of people are displaced, farmers count their losses yearly as entire fields of maize, groundnuts, and rice vanish beneath raging waters. We are also told that mud-walled houses crumble under the force of the floods, roads connecting villages disappear, schools close, and classrooms are turned into makeshift shelters for displaced families.
Although the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) rushes in with relief items such as mattresses, blankets, and bags of rice to mitigate the impact of the flooding, these items — though vital — are often insufficient compared to the magnitude of devastation.
The situation is worrying, but the problem has not been fully addressed, as it has for years caused destruction downstream in many communities, especially among farmers.
It is a pity that, though NADMO continues to urge residents in flood-prone areas across the Upper East, North East, Savannah, and Northern Regions to relocate to safer grounds, for many, relocation is not an option. Their livelihoods are tied to fertile riverbanks, and abandoning their farms would mean giving up the only source of income they know.
Ironically, amidst the destruction, the same flood that wreaks havoc also deposits nutrient-rich silt on farmlands, making them more fertile for dry-season farming.
It is therefore time for the government to construct proper irrigation systems so that these communities can turn disaster into opportunity — using the water to grow crops in the dry season to sustain themselves.
It is also time for the long-promised construction of the Pwalugu Multi-Purpose Dam in the Upper East Region to come to fruition. This project would serve as a buffer for excess water from the Bagre Dam and generate electricity.
There is also the need to control the spillage by starting it gradually each month instead of waiting until the dam is full before releasing the water at once.
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) should enforce strict measures to prevent construction in flood-prone areas.
Before each spillage begins, ample time should be given to residents through public announcements to enable them to move to safer places ahead of time. Besides traditional media such as radio and television, The Spectator urges authorities to also engage traditional and religious leaders in spreading such messages to ensure residents receive the information early.
We are told the spillage of the dam is necessary to prevent it from collapsing when water levels exceed safe limits. However, it continues to create havoc and has become a yearly cycle of loss and recovery.
The spillage of the Bagre Dam is a recurring disaster that demands an urgent and lasting solution to make life better for residents and farmers.
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
Dear Editor,
I wish to use this esteemed platform to urge the traditional councils of Osu and La to call for independent investigation into the recent demolition exercise at Kaajaano.
The exercise rendered hundreds homeless.
Information about the reason for the demolition has been scanty with those desiring to know feeding heavily on social media posts.
One particular name –Jato, has been associated with it but under whose instruction the exercise was carried is also not known.
Sadly, instead of getting to know who ordered the demolition and for what reasons, traditional authorities of Osu and La have been embroiled in a tug-of-war over ownership of the said land.
This is premature. At this moment, they should call for investigation into the exercise to know the people behind it.
When that is done, then discussions about the owners of the site can begin. That would end the posture of the two neighbouring town which has the potential to turn into something else.
Ataa Osa Mensah,
Osu
Dear Editor,
I wish to use your respected platform to draw the attention of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to the behaviour of traders and some drivers about the use of lower denomination coins, specifically the 20 and 10 pesewas.
About two weeks ago, I read in your sister newspaper, The Ghanaian Times about this problem and the caution that followed from the BoG and some economic analysts.
The warning they gave was that the continuous rejection of the notes could create pricing problems which can eventually affect inflation.
I thought that would put to bed that practice or refusal to accept the coins when given out as change or use to pay for particular service.
Unfortunately, the problem still persist among traders, drivers, customers and passengers alike. Only last week, there was as altercation in the Accra Central area where a woman refused to accept five 20 pesewas note totaling one cedi.
As the argument continued, the trader decided not to sell to the customer again after by-standers explained to her that it was still a legal tender and those that refused it could become offenders.
This is an issue the BoG and other regulatory agencies must go and explain to the people and let them know that it is unlawful not to accept a currency that is still in use.
It nothing was done, it could create a much more serious problems.
Mary Osei Badu,
Swedru
