Ada Residence Gripe Over ‘Shoddy’ Work

Residents along the coast of Ada have expressed disappointment over the quality of work executed by Dredging International and International Construction in the protection of the Ada Coastline.

The project, otherwise known as Ada Sea Defense Project, executed by the two Belgian companies was handed over to the government in 2015.

The project was estimated to see the reclamation of about 15 acres of land from the sea but residents say that promise was not fulfilled by the company.

The residents are up in arms with the companies for not starting the project at the tail end of the estuary which they say is now posing a big treat to the communities closer to the estuary as those communities yearly suffer tidal wave destructions.

Even though the residents admitted enjoying some relative stable conditions in some of the Communities, they stated that it cannot be compared to the huge negative impact on many of the communities along the coast, insisting that majority of residents have suffered loss of millions of properties while others also lost their lives.

The destruction which mostly happened in the night have seen over thousand of houses swallowed by the sea in decades through sea tidal waves while acres of land were also consumed through sea erosion, a situation which forced the government to award the €240 million two phase Sea Defense Project Contract in 2012.

Whilst some of the residents are praising the efforts of the government for coming into their aid by awarding the contract, a faction of the residents have also childed the supervisors for not holding Dredging International in checks.

An Ada based social advocate, Mr. Aaron Hushie said “even though the project was not well executed, the impact is somehow positive considering the fact that some of the communities are yet to experience any destruction of property from the sea after the project”.

He also stated that “while fishermen can now land safely ashore with their canoes without any difficulty, students also have their peace to study without interference by tidal waves especially in the months of September where schools along the coast are mostly affected”.

He however said considering the amount of money that was spent in the project the companies could have done a better job than what they did.

Mr. Randolph T.T Kabutey, a National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) official and a former Assembly man for Totimeh Kope electoral area also a coastal community stated that tidal waves destruction has now shifted to the communities along the Volta lake making lives difficult for the residents there.

He cited Azizanya, Azizakpe and Aflive as examples warning that “Very soon the Ada East District Assembly will be washed away because the sea is fast approaching.”

By: Daniel Akpaloo Nyorngmor