Akosombo dam spillage: Long-term relief for victims will be considered in 2024 budget – Ofori-Atta

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has announced that long-term relief measures for the victims of the Akosombo Dam spillage will be considered in the 2024 national budget.

Ken Ofori-Atta made this known when he led a delegation to pay a visit to the affected communities by the dam spillage on Friday, October 27.

Speaking to journalists after touring the affected communities, the Finance Minister indicated that though the government had made some relief items available for victims, it will continue to do more and make plans to capture it in next year’s budget.

“We have mobilized a few things that we would like to share but I think we are also in the budget season and therefore it will not just be numbers that we are working on but true feelings in the field and therefore the need to look at these social interventions in a real way. We will certainly give this an expression immediately and also in the budget,” he stated.

Ken Ofori-Atta seized the opportunity to thank the government, corporate social organizations, and philanthropists for their unwavering support towards the affected victims.

The spillage, which was carried out by the VRA on September 15, has displaced about 27,000 people, according to the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO).

Farmlands have also been completely submerged, with growing fears of an increase in poverty levels in the affected communities due to the loss of livelihoods of the communities that are known for fishing and farming.

A few days after the unfortunate incident, the government set up a 13-member inter-ministerial committee to coordinate the government’s efforts in assisting and providing relief to those affected by the flooding.

Moreover, management of the Volta River Authority(VRA), the government, CSOs and well-to-do individuals based in Ghana and abroad have since been extending their support to the affected persons, displaced from their permanent abodes.