President John Mahama has announced that construction work on the West Africa Coastal Areas (WACA) project is expected to begin soon. He assured coastal residents that efforts are underway to expedite the work addressing ongoing coastal erosion challenges in parts of the Volta Region. During a visit to the affected communities, he explained that the project experienced delays in 2024 due to the election campaign, but it has since resumed.
The WACA project, supported by the World Bank with a funding allocation of $150 million, is designed to protect vulnerable sections of Ghana’s coastline, including areas such as Ketu South and parts of Anloga. Planned interventions include the construction of sea defence structures, installation of groins to reduce wave impact and ecosystem-based measures such as mangrove restoration of coconut trees and the planting to stabilise the shoreline.
A planned project that had stalled in 2024 resumed shortly after John Mahama took office, coinciding with the devastating tidal waves affecting the region. The President’s first visit was to Fuveme, located near the estuary, which is increasingly being eroded by the sea. “In the meantime, we will contact the Volta River Authority (VRA) to see if they can carry out some dredging in the main estuary to alleviate the pressure on this side.
When the estuary becomes silted, it seeks alternative routes to the sea, which is exactly what is happening here. If we dredge it, it will allow more water to flow out into the sea. We will take immediate measures to try and reduce the impact, but a long-term solution is the World Bank project that we are about to initiate,” President Mahama stated. He then proceeded to Jita Anyanui to inspect the construction of a sea defense wall.
“The electric poles were just by the road and the sea had fell some of the electric lines, so the contractors had to reposition the electric cables over there, but there’s a very good job you can see many years after I left office I think it was in 2016 or so, many years after we left office the sea defence is still looking very good,” he said.
President Mahama then proceeded to Agaveji in the Ketu South constituency, a community that has suffered severe tidal waves but currently heaving a sigh of relief following the award and commencement of phase two of the Blekusu sea defence projects. The President said his promise to make life comfortable for the people will not be abandoned.
Source: Komla Klutse
