By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, Nov 08, GNA — President John Dramani Mahama has announced a GH¢685 million allocation to commence coastal protection works under the West African Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project (WACA), assuring coastal communities that their anxieties over repeated displacement due to coastal erosion will receive immediate attention.
Delivering a speech at the grand durbar of the Hogbetsotso Festival in Anloga in the Volta Region on Saturday, the President acknowledged the devastating human toll of coastal erosion, particularly in Fuveme and surrounding communities, where families have endured repeated displacement.
“The anxiety of our coastal communities deserves our immediate attention. No family should have to endure repeated displacement because of coastal erosion,” President Mahama declared to the gathering of chiefs, elders, and residents.
The President emphasized the broader implications of the environmental crisis, noting that beyond physical structures, the erosion threatens livelihoods and cultural heritage.
“Reference to Fuveme and the surrounding communities brings us back to the human consequences of coastal erosion. Behind every damaged home is a household whose security has been taken away,” he said.
“Fishing and livelihoods, schools, community facilities and places of cultural importance are all at risk.”
He said this amount would cover engineering works such as breakwaters, groynes and revetments, and it would also cover dune fixation through vegetation, beach replenishment and wetlands restoration.
The project, according to the President, extends beyond physical infrastructure to include environmental rehabilitation and social support components.
“Other aspects of the project include lagoon and watershed rehabilitation,” he stated.
He said the final aspect of the project was the provision of livelihood support for communities in the targeted programme area, especially for young people, women and persons with disabilities.
The Hogbetsotso Festival, celebrated annually by the Anlo Ewe people, commemorates their historic migration from Notsie in present-day Togo.
Togbui Sri III, the Awoamefia of the Anlo State said the Government should ensure the uninterrupted continuation and completion of the Blekusu Sea Defence Wall Project.
He noted that concurrently, they respectfully request clear and transparent timelines for the Keta Port Project, adding that the administration block was almost complete and that the project had remained on paper for far too long.
He said the people of Anlo wish to see action in the physical construction of the port.
Togbui Sri said the relocation of the Eastern Naval Base to Keta, as promised, should be finalised to secure their waters.
He said alongside this, the Government should move from rhetoric to action in establishing the University of the Blue Economy and Coastal Ecosystems in Anlo to secure a future for their youth in the maritime sector.
GNA
Kenneth Odeng Adade