Waija Dam Spillage: Severe Hunger Rocks 1000 Flood Residents In Tettegu
Tettegu Assembly Member called on Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to endeavour to to check its water spillage to the open drains within its catchment areas.
Freeman Koryekpor 
Information available to Soireenews.com indicates that about one thousand-three hundred (1,300) residents living in Tettegu Old and New Towns in the Weija-Gbawe municipality of the Greater Accra Region who have been displaced by flooding caused by the Weija Dam spillage by Ghana Company Limited (GWCL) are complaining of living in severe hunger or food insecurity.
This online news portal was informed that
at least fifteen houses collapsed while the whole Tettegu old and new towns were flooded. Shops, kiosks, drinking spots, chop bars are also got submerged.
Properties including personal effects, household items, stored food such as maize and gari worth millions of cedis have been destroyed.
No human casualty was recorded but some livestock reportedly died.
A visit by this reporter to Tettegu on Thursday October 6, 2022, showed that majority of the affected residents were sheltered at the buildings of the various churches near the Tettegu while some of them were currently sleeping on the open places within the area under peris of weather.
The scores of the affected residents interviewed by Soireenews.com stated that they were moved from Tettegu to stay with their relatives at Gbawe Top Beach, lamenting that they lost their properties in the floods.
According to the residents, although there have been annual flooding disasters occurring in the community, the current floods were very severed, disasterous and heartbreaking.
"Many of the residents had left our various houses and currently living with our relatives in others communities. But some of us who are living in Tettegu transformer area have came here this morning to check whether the water has gone away from our houses so that we come back to occupy our houses.
"But what we can see was that our houses have still flooded" the visibly distraught residents told Soireenews.com on Thursday morning of October 6, 2022.
They indicated that their economic activities were affected by the current floods disaster.
According to them, when it was night they moved to Tettegu bridge river side to have our bath."
They stated that their clothes were all wet in the water, lamenting that some of them don't have shirts or dresses to wear, and that we wore one dress for the past three days."
They disclosed to this reporter that since they were displaced by the flooding water they were rocked with severe food shortage, lamenting that they are currently living or sleeping in hunger.
"Even foods for us to eat are our problem now, and that we are calling on the government and other corporate institutions to swiftly come our aid to safe us from this pressing problems, the affected residents appealed.
They said "we never seen this flood before since we are staying in this area for the past 20 years ago.
"This year's flood is very severe that we the inhabitants of the area were affected. We have not been informed by the management of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) before it spilled the water from the Weija dam," the residents stressed.
"We realized that the rain has fallen for long time, no information from the GWCL and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) but what we seen was that the GWCL has spilled the excessive water from dam which has caused disaster in our area.
"We are currently living in danger. As is it now we all need an urgent support from the state authorities and the corporate institutions because our properties have been destroyed by the floods," lamented.
Against this background, the residents stated that “We the residents of over five thousand (5000) population in Tetegu are appealing to authorities through Assembly Member Hon Bright Kwame Adabra, for the construction of drains.
According to them, any time there are heavy downpours, many parts of the Tettegu floods resulting to the loss of properties running to millions of Ghana cedis.
They sent a save of soul messages to state authorities to put up measures to fix flood-prone-Tettegu areas because the situation caused by the flooding waters is gradually escalating.
They stated that the major areas within Tettegu which needs drains are Wassman Rasta Ayalolo School Area, Ghana Flag Tetegu Old Town, Tsidi Kopeme, Maimi, island city and Anwiawia.
However, the government has ongoing projects such as construction of a new clinic, sanitation facility and a school has come to halt due to unmotorable road access and unavailable drains.
They lamented that sometimes the flooding situation is serious to the extent that property owners with cars cannot access their home to safely park their cars which has resulted in over 15 cars broken into and parts stolen due to them parking at the roadside.
Speaking in an interview with Soireenews.com, the Assembly Member for Tettegu Electoral Area, Mr Bright Kwame Adabra has made a passionate appeal to the Weija-Gbawe Municipal Chief (MCE), Mr Patrick Kwasi Brako Kumor and Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mrs Tina Gifty Naa Ayeley Mensah to impress upon the GWCL to check and control its water spillage to help prevent flooding situations in the area.
Mr Bright whose house was flooded with the waters debunked assertion of the residents that they were not given prior notice before the spillage of the excess water from the Waija dam by the GWCL.
According to him, they were given notice by the GWCL through the NADMO, explaining that the notice came late for them to prepare fully for the spillage of the dam.
He described the current floodings as severe which had never happened since they were living in Tettegu for the past 20 years and called on the government to come to their support.
