Catastrophic annual spillage

The annual spillage of the Bagre Dam in neighbouring Burkina Faso and its attendant humanitarian and economic consequences now constitute a permanent feature on our calendar.

Over the years, resolutions have been made to harness the excess water through an engineering module for irrigation purposes.

These have largely remained pipedreams. The annual visits to victims of the dam spillage and the provision of relief items to them do not mean much because, after all, we can always predict with precision when farms will be submerged and the livelihood of thousands of families compromised.

Indeed, as a mark of respect, the Burkinabes alert us before the spillage. It is, therefore, inexplicable when we are unable to do something to avert what is now seasonal.

A few years ago, during a similar spillage and havoc, the assurance was so loud that we thought that was the last time we were going to witness such a havoc.

Some of us at the time began thinking about the massive harvests of vegetables we were going to derive from dry season farming as a result of diverted water for irrigation purposes. What could have therefore impacted positively on lives has now become an albatross around our necks especially, our compatriots up North.

As we compose this commentary, the Ghana Water Company Limited has announced preparations to shut the plant which treats water for Tamale and its environs.

The five regions in the northern part of the country are enduring untold hardship as a result of the spillage when technology, had it been engaged, would have turned their sorrow into elation.

The economic consequences of the spillage are enormous and we would request that government empanels a team of experts to look into the possibility of turning the spillage into a blessing and not a curse.

Throwing our hands into the air in an act of hopelessness should not be an option because indeed, something can be done about the perennial situation.

It sounds ironic that at a time when others are suffering from the negative impact of drought, excessive water is dealing untold hardship on thousands of families under the circumstances in the North.

We have learnt about how Burkina Faso is using the opportunities offered by water, which is in abundance through irrigation, this time in the year, to produce vegetables some of which are exported through informal trade to Ghana.

The remark that Ghana should be able to undertake all-year round farming by properly managing water is not a fallacy but a reality as evidenced by the perennial Bagre dam spillage.

There shall be another spillage next year with a repeat of the consequences unless something radical is done and technology has this template. Are we ready to do something about that?

---Daily Guide