The World Bank has pledged to support victims affected by the Akosombo Dam Spillage with an amount of $150 million.
Speaking at the 3rd Conference on Fisheries and Coastal Environment in Accra, the Operations Manager of the World Bank in Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, Michelle Keane, expressed the World Bank’s empathy for affected victims and their readiness to support them.
“We can’t speak about flooding today without conveying the World Bank’s sincere empathy and concern for the ten thousand people who have been impacted by the recent floods along the Volta River,” she said. “The World Bank would want to express its readiness to support the government in its response to this crisis.”
She also highlighted the importance of how the Ghanaian government will take advantage of a $150 million loan facility to help protect coastal communities from flooding with a long-term sustainability strategy.
“We hope that the government and its partners will take full advantage of the $150 million approved by the World Bank for Ghana under the West Africa Coastal Areas Management Programme (WACA). The financing is expected to become available very soon after parliamentary approval,” Keane added.
She urged the government to conduct a critical analysis before taking any action.
“In the longer term, developing a sustainability and risk management strategy for the Volta River and Volta Delta among other areas, will be crucial to determining where it is safe for people to live and how their livelihoods can be sustained and grow along the Volta River supported by a healthy ecosystem,” she said.
