Dam Spillage: Apaak Wants Education Minister Added To Committee

Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Education Committee, Clement Apaak has called for the inclusion of the Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum in the inter-ministerial committee established by the government to steer response to the damages caused to the parts of the country by the spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong dams.

He also wants the Minister for Health included.

According to him, their inclusion was necessary due to the health implications associated with the flood and the number of students forced out of school.

“The Ministers of Education and Health ought to be part of the committee to address the effects of the flooding. Given that thousands of pupils/students have been affected, and the obvious health implications of the floods, these ministers must be included.”

On Wednesday, Graphic reported that 893 basic schoolchildren in the South Tongu District, one of the districts affected by the flood, have been left without access to education as five basic schools in the area have been closed.

The government set up the Committee on October 13 to coordinate the government’s response to the situation.

Headed by the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei Opare, it includes the Minister for National Security, Kan Dapaah, the Minister for Interior, Ambrose Dery, the Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, the Minister for Energy, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, the Minister for Local Government, Dan Botwe and the Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso Boakye.

The rest are the Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwaku Amoako Atta, the Minister for Environment, Kwaku Afriyie, the Minister for Sanitation, Freda Prempeh, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor and the Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.

On Monday, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) called for the inclusion of the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu in the Committee.

The Association argued that the provision of emergency healthcare and support, prevention of possible outbreaks of water-borne diseases, risk communication and ensuring continuity of essential health services are fundamental to a response of this nature and thereby required the Health Minister’s addition.

The Volta River Authority (VRA) on September 15 began a spillage exercise from the Akosombo and Kpong hydro dams to save the dam.

The exercise has caused flooding in districts such as South Tongu, Central Tongu, North Tongu, Shai Osudoku, Anlo, Ada East and Asuogyaman.

The impact has led to the displacement of many communities, destruction of property, loss of livelihoods and disruption of healthcare and other critical services in some parts of the Volta Region, the Greater Accra Region and the Eastern Region.