By Omotayo Edubi
The Chief Executive Officer of the Coastal Development Authority (CODA), Jerry Ahmed Shaib, has urged residents in areas affected by tidal waves to be open to Ghanaian government’s interventions.
Speaking to newsmen on Thursday, Shaib said “relocation is key’ Coastal Rejuvenation Initiative.
“If you are going to allow the government to take the necessary steps, including relocating people, including pursuing the green agenda and ensuring that sea defences are also well-built, I think we will get somewhere.”
He noted, for example, that in the Ketu South District, there were plans for new settlements for people in at-risk communities to relocate to.
There has however been some pushback from residents in affected communities who are not fully convinced by the relocation option.
“There is a medium-term plan being rolled out. The assembly has secured some funding to start the construction of some 100 houses. And that is going to be a two-bedroom facility for the small island they are going to be on. That is an option.
“But if you are saying there is an ancestral connection to the sea or to wherever you are staying and that is where you prefer to stay, that is not on,” Shaib added.
Some communities in the Volta Region also struggled with tidal waves flooding over the weekend.
Households were stranded at Agavedzi and some adjoining communities in the Ketu South Municipality due to the flooding.
The flooding also affected parts of the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem Municipality of the Central Region and Shama in the Western Region, with some households being displaced.
