He said, for now, the ministry and other stakeholder agencies were working to validate the preliminary data on the victims to ensure an equitable distribution of the housing units among beneficiaries.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said this when he cut the sod at the resettlement project at New Bakpa in the Central Tongu District last Monday. He explained that not all people affected by the spillage required resettlement;  some only required refurbishment of their homes.

“So, the ongoing assessment is to determine the kind of interventions we need in the affected communities, with consideration for utilities such as schools, market, church and various amenities,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah added.

 

Nearly 40,000 people were affected when the Volta River Authority spilled the Akosombo and Kpong dams in September last year. The authority said the measure was to save the dams from possible collapse as they inched above their maximum water levels.

Sites

The minister said there were nine resettlement sites in the Volta Region and the Ministry of Works and Housing was committed to carrying out decent work equitably at all the project sites.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah commended the Volta Regional Coordinating Council, the chiefs of the two districts and the assemblies for collaborating to readily secure vast lands for the resettlement projects.

He appealed to the beneficiaries of the resettlement plan to give data of integrity to facilitate an effective policy decision to the interventions by the government on the plan.

Assessment

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the exact size and number of the housing units for each community, family and individual would be determined from the assessment of preliminary data on those affected by the floods.

He said the cost of the resettlement projects was huge, but declined to disclose the exact amount involved. The minister later performed a similar ceremony at the resettlement project site at Mepe in North Tongu where the Mankrado of the town, Togbe Korsi Nego VI, said Mepe also needed a good drainage system to avoid dreadful floods in future. Mankrado Korsi Nego also appealed for decent roads at Mepe to enhance economic activities.

Regional Minister

The Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, said apart from the resettlement plan, the government was also dedicated to reviving livelihoods in the flood-hit areas.

He said the resettlement sites had already been cleared to demonstrate the seriousness the government attached to the projects.

Apart from the project sites at New Bakpa and Mepe, there is another one at Aveyime also in North Tongu.