According to Dr Ishmael Norman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Security, Disaster, and Emergency Studies, various technicalities are involved in declaring a state of emergency in Ghana.

To that end, he stated that the President will not declare a state of emergency, not even a regional state of emergency, in response to the flood tragedy caused by the water leakage from the Akosombo Dam.

Dr Norman remarked on the Ghana Tonight broadcast on TV3 on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, that he supports requests for the President to declare a state of emergency owing to the calamity. “Of course but the President won’t do it. Going by his history, during Covid, he didn’t use the Emergency Powers Act of 1994 Act 471, and Article 31 of the 1992 Constitution.

“The reason why he wouldn’t declare a state of emergency, even a regional state of emergency, is because it entails a lot. You remember that he used Executive Instrument 61 when it started and then 10 (12) of 2020 to declare a health emergency, not even a state of emergency, but a health emergency meaning other considerations were not important even though the COVID situation was a massive disruption to activities everywhere.

“In this situation with spillage and flooding, he is not going to declare a state of emergency, not even a regional state of emergency. He will come out with an Executive Instrument that will allow him to perform without reporting to  Parliament because the modalities for the state of emergency are very technical, and our President doesn’t like to be controlled by the laws too much.”

He added “If you declare a state of emergency it allows the government to allocate a lot of resources to confront and tackle the emergency. So, if the government is dedicated to solving this problem then the wisest thing to do will be a declaration of a regional state of emergency because it has not become national yet.

“The spillage and flooding subsequent, have not become overwhelming that the country cannot handle or the region can’t handle it, this is an isolated case. Maybe 9 districts or even 12 affected, but that is still not overwhelming. But in order to declare a regional state of emergency the President will have to go to Parliament, report to the Parliament of what has happened and follow the modalities as listed under Article 31.”

Several requests have been made to the President to proclaim a state of emergency in the areas impacted by the flood caused by the Akosombo Dam leakage.

Former President John Dramani Mahama, for example, stated that the breadth and severity of flooding in villages along the Volta River is greater than “our crippled economy can bear.”

Former Health Minister Alex Segbefia has also requested that the President proclaim a state of emergency in the affected districts.

“I recommend to Government to declare a State of Emergency in the affected areas and request relief assistance from our bilateral and multilateral partners immediately,” he wrote on Facebook.

In his opinion, declaring a state of emergency would cause no disruptions.

“I don’t see any harm in declaring a state of emergency,” he stated on the Big Issue on TV3 on Wednesday, October 18, after urging the government to prepare for a probable health disaster.

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) also supported the declaration of a state of emergency.

According to GNAT, declaring a state of emergency will protect public safety and the maintenance of law and order.

The flood has devastated communities such as Mepe and Battor in the North Tongu Constituency.

The Volta River Authority (VRA) expects water spillage from the Akosombo dam to continue until the lake’s surplus inflows diminish.

GNAT in a statement issued on Tuesday, October 17 said it “equally backs the calls for a  state of emergency to be declared in the affected areas, since the circumstances under which a state of emergency could be declared, whether natural or manmade disasters, is being experienced currently which is not only threatening the very existence of the people but also depriving the communities of essentials of life. The declaration of the emergency would secure public safety, maintenance of public order, and generate the supply of essential goods and services required by the communities.”

The statement added “We ask our teachers in the region to remain steadfast and calm and assure them of our utmost assistance to enable them to carry out their duties when the storm is over.  Our learners are also not left out as we would make sure their dedication is neither disrupted nor thwarted for whatever reason.”

Similarly, the Assemblies of God Church has advocated for the establishment of a state of emergency in the impacted districts.

The Church hoped that by doing so, they would be able to deal with the “depressing” situation.

Speaking to journalists in Accra on Tuesday, October 17, Rev Stephen Wengam, General Overseer of the Assemblies of God Church, said, “The Assemblies of God Ghana fully supports calls for the declaration of a state of emergency in the flood-affected areas, as this will aid the necessary humanitarian measures being undertaken to bring the depressing situation under control.”

He also encouraged Ghanaians to help the administration put the situation under control.

“The sad reality is that government and government agencies alone cannot shoulder the huge burden of bringing relief and hope to the people due to the untold disaster. This is the time therefore for Ghanaians of all social backgrounds, financial standings, political affiliations, and extractions to rally to the aid of the suffering fathers, mothers, and children.

“Corporate Ghana and other benevolent bodies must also identify themselves with humanitarian efforts  while counsellors and psychologist also do their best.”

Following the flooding, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) issued a cholera warning for the affected communities.

To that aim, the GMA want to include the Ministry of Health on the 13-member inter-ministerial committee constituted to analyse the flood situation.

On Monday, October 16, Acting General Secretary of the GMA, Dr. Richard Selormey, stated on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 that “in our view as the GMA, in such an emergency, there is a big component that the health sector plays in the relief efforts.”

“If you take this flooding for example, people have lost their livelihoods, people have been displaced from their homes, many don’t have access to basic amenities that they had before and therefore there’s a great risk for waterborne diseases, for various injuries because of floating objects, The outbreak of some conditions as cholera, typhoid, and even malaria because there is a pooling of water everywhere.

“There is a big problem of continuity of care because people who used to access health facilities have been cut off. We are aware that there are about three health centres that have been cut off by the floods.  This, we think, makes a compelling case that the Ministry, not the person of the Minister per se, has a big role to play in these efforts and it is important that the Health Ministry is included in this inter-ministerial committee.”

To handle flood-related challenges, the government organised a 13-member inter-ministerial group led by the Chief of Staff.

National Security, Interior, Defence, Energy, Finance, Local Government, Works and Housing, Roads and Highways, Environment, Sanitation, Lands and Natural Resources, and Information Ministers are among the members.

According to a statement published by Information Minister Kojo Joopong Nkrumah on Friday, October 13, the committee was constituted on the command of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The VRA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa, stated that the lake is now seeing higher-than-expected inflows, implying that the spilling will continue.

“We are on phase II [of the spillage] right now and it is a cycle. It is normal at this time of the year for us to experience inflows. The difference is that we are getting more than expected and to safeguard this dam means that we have to spill water, that is the standard operation for any hydro dam but the inflows that we are seeing now are in excess.

“Definitely, as the cycle goes through this will recede so we are hoping it will recede in the next time,” he told journalists on Thursday, October 12.

“The spilling may continue even though we are anticipating that the levels may drop down to phase 1, which was started on September 15 but of course, we did not have much excess as we are seeing now, this is an emergency as we have seen from the beginning.

“Whether dredging or no dredging it is an emergency. The volume of water that is coming into the lake right now which we have to throw out, it means that we need to evacuate people from wherever they are to ensure they are safe until the inflows recede,” he added.

The VRA was accused of failing to meet its obligations in the Lower Volta Basin, which resulted in the devastating impact of floods caused by leakage from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams on villages.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo told the chiefs and people of Mepe and other towns in the Region’s North, South, and Central Tongu districts that the government will do all in its ability to ameliorate their condition.

He said “When I took the oath of office as president I took the oath of office as president for every single individual in Ghana, of all the people in Ghana, all districts whether they voted for me or not, once I have taken the oath of office I am the president of all the people.

“So Togbe, you and your elders, I want you to understand that when something like this happens and the government acts government is acting for Ghanaians.

“I came here because Ghanaians are having difficulties and suffering and it is my responsibility to try and help. If it is the question of counting who votes for me and who doesn’t vote for me  I shouldn’t be here because you don’t vote for me but that is not my concern. In any event one day, you will vote for me and my party.

“I came here this afternoon to express my sympathies and to commiserate with all the people in the Mepe area. I chose Mepe because this is the area that has been most affected.

“We have to also be very grateful for the work of VRA, the preparation they have been making over the years in such a situation, the simulation exercise, and all the things they have been doing to prepare for this including the sensitization. Because of the good that they have done up until now, by the grace of God,  not one single individual has lost his life in this crisis,” he said.