The Communications Director of the largest opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the Upper East Region Peter Ayamga Ayinbisa has accused the Mahama administration of neglecting flood victims of the Bagre Dam spillage and farmers affected by the dry spell.
While provisions have been made in the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to compensate tidal waves victims in the Volta Region and Akosombo Dam spillage victims in that same region and other parts of the country, Ayinbisa observed that victims of the perennial floods in the Upper East and North East regions occasioned by the Bagre Dam spillage have not been catered for.
This, to him, is not just neglect of the victims in the extreme North of the country but smacks of discrimination.
“What is worrying is that, deliberately, over 200 million Ghana cedis have been allocated for tidal waves in Volta Region. Over the same has been allocated for Akosombo Dam spillage, deliberately, to support those people in that area,” he stated.
“What of the Bagre Dam spillage in the Upper East Region? The Bagre Dam that is spilled annually, every year, the people of Burkina Faso spill or open the Bagre Dam. It causes havoc to the people of the Bawku West District, Talensi District, and some other surrounding communities, even to the extent of North East.
(But) government is very quiet about us. So, it means that we, we do not matter in this whole equation.”
He also accused government of failing to offer support to farmers affected by the recent dry spell in the 5 regions of the North.
He argued that many, particularly, farmers have been devastated by the floods and the dry spell in these parts of the country and are in dire need of aid to get back on their feet.
But the state, he observed, has continuously neglected especially victims of the perennial floods.
“We’ve had NGOs and other organizations, including Citi TV, go there to build houses for these people. But in Upper East Region, what intervention did we get from government? Not even churches, mosques, and other people gave the farmers who lost their everything something.”
“Go to Northern Region, the drought that occurred latter part of last year, what compensation are we giving to those farmers? Is it because we are Northerners? Is it because we don’t have people who talk for us in government? That we have been side-lined, and now the concentration is on Volta Region, and these two activities or policies are directed towards helping the people in that area.
And for those of us in Northern Ghana, we do not matter.”
He wants government to help the victims resettle and provide them with farm inputs and capital to continue their agricultural production.
The annual spillage of the Bagre Dam by Burkinabe authorities often cause the White Volta in Ghana to overflow its banks, resulting in floods that usually wretch havoc in districts in Upper East, North East and Northern Regions.
The Pwalugu Multi-purpose Dam was meant to address this situation as well as generate electricity and serve irrigational purposes. But the dam has yet to be constructed even though experts say its construction will not resolve the flooding issue and could even worse it.
In the last farming season, many farmers in the 5 regions of the North lost their crops to the dry spell, a situation that has not only left them penniless but also threatened food security in the country.
The previous government made provisions for those affected but Peter Ayinbisa said the support is not adequate.
