The leadership of the Volta River Authority (VRA) has received a warning from President John Dramani Mahama that they would be required to quit or be fired if the catastrophic Akosombo Dam disaster that caused extensive flooding in 2023 occurs again.
To commemorate his first 120 days in office, President Mahama revealed in a nationally televised speech on Wednesday, May 7, that a special technical committee headed by former VRA CEO Ing. Kirk Koffi had been formed to examine the catastrophe and offer specific suggestions.
“A committee headed by former VRA CEO Ing. Kirk Koffi was established by this government. According to Mahama, the group has suggested ways to stop similar incidents in the future, such as creating a “controlled spill flood plan” and putting downstream engineering solutions for flood control into practice.
He called the floods in 2023 a “man-made disaster” and stated that the new government was committed to using proactive and responsible governance to stop it from happening again.
“I have directed that the recommendations be implemented immediately,” the President declared.
Mahama stated that the VRA administration will be held personally accountable for any future carelessness. “I have further indicated that if they are not properly implemented and another destructive VRA flooding occurs like in 2023, the VRA CEO and deputies must resign or be sacked,” he threatened.
The 2023 floods caused serious harm in downstream areas, displacing hundreds and raising national resentment over the management of the disaster.
President Mahama also said that a compensation procedure had started, with financial allocations already made and a specialized staff in place to handle payouts, as part of measures to provide victims with justice and relief.
He urged locals and traditional leaders in the impacted areas to back a peaceful and orderly compensation process.
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