Around 1,500 residents, encompassing women and children from 500 households, find themselves displaced by floodwaters in Buipe, located in the Central Gonja District of the Savannah Region.
According to the Central Gonja office of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), 239 adult males and 230 adult females, in addition to 348 boys and 427 girls, have been compelled to evacuate their homes.
NADMO further reports that three public toilets and an immeasurable number of private ones are now submerged, posing potential health hazards.
The deluge has overwhelmed food stores, engulfing fifty acres of farmland and leaving three private schools inundated.
Mohammed Mustapha, the Central Gonja District Director of NADMO, expressed his discontent in an interview with MyJoyOnline, accusing the management of the Bui Dam of negligence for failing to notify the affected communities, contradicting their earlier promise to educate individuals along the banks of the Black Volta River before any spillage.
“Prior to this water spillage this season, they [management of Bui dam] told us that they would come because their water level was still high and so, we should prepare a budget for us to use seven days to sensitize the people around the river banks.”
“Yes, so, Buipe, Banda, Bole, and Kintampo North NADMO Directors, did collaborate and submit the budget to Bui Dam as requested.”
“But after submission, they failed to turn up or communicate to us again until we began seeing the water coming into people’s houses and farmlands. So, it’s a failure on Bui Dam for not living by their words”, he bemoaned.
The Director recounted similar behavior by Bui Dam last year where they denied the spillage only to later visit Buipewura Abdulai Jinapor I to claim responsibility for it.
He, however, commended the Ghana Red Cross Society for their continued support, “because apart from the 14 home kits they gave us, they also sent volunteers to help evacuate the victims. GES also handed over the 6-unit R/C primary school block to us to accommodate the displaced”.
Mohammed Mustapha later appealed for engagement between the government and traditional rulers for the permanent relocation of residents.