Mr. Kwame Darkwah, Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) Coordinator of the Volta River Authority (VRA), said the authority regularly undertakes inspections and maintenance of the Akosombo dam to expand its life span.
He said aside from the internal examinations conducted by the Authority, there were other international bodies and experts who assessed the facility every five years or less and provided comprehensive instructions to ascertain the status of the facility.
Mr. Darkwah said this during a workshop at the Ada-East District Assembly on EPP and Environmental Management Plan (EMP).
He was responding to questions raised by some participants at the workshop on plans in place in case of damage.
He added that people who visited the facility for excursion purposes would attest to the fact that the place looked new and safe, saying, “we had a visitor from International Centre for Hydropower (ICH) and the facilitators were amazed how we have kept the facility over the years.”
The EPP Coordinator, however, indicated that should the unforeseen happen, the VRA had outlined measures to cater to the needs of the victims and property.
He added that safe havens had also been mounted at various points to accommodate victims and support them with some relief items until they permanently got accommodation.
Ms. Akosua Owusu-Efaa from the Engineering Service Department of VRA said EPP identified potential conditions and specified pre-planned activities to be followed to minimize property damage and loss of lives.
She said the plan specified the roles and responsibilities of parties in case of any eventuality.
