Appreciation For Your Visit And Budgetary Allocation And The Need For Expedited Action On Works

Dear Mr. President,

I write to express my deepest appreciation to you for your visit to the affected communities of Agavedzi, Salakope, Amutsinu, and Adina in the Ketu South Municipality following the devastating impact of coastal erosion and tidal waves. Your presence on the ground demonstrated empathy and leadership, offering a glimmer of hope to the thousands of displaced individuals who have lost their homes, livelihoods, and ancestral lands to the relentless encroachment of the sea.

I am also grateful for the allocation of GHC 200 million in the national budget for the resettlement of affected communities and for the continuation of coastal protection works. This commitment is a step in the right direction and affirms your administration's resolve to address this long-standing crisis.

Urgent Need to Fast-Track the Implementation .

While I acknowledge this allocation, I respectfully urge your government to fast-track the process to ensure that resettlement and coastal protection works commence without further delay. The people of these communities can no longer endure the repeated cycles of destruction and displacement caused by coastal erosion. Every passing moment without concrete action deepens their suffering, leaving them vulnerable to further environmental and socio-economic hardships.

Funding Gap and the Need for Comprehensive Restoration.

Mr. President, it is important to state that GHC 200 million (approximately $12.5 million) is only a drop in the ocean compared to the scale of intervention required. Previous estimates have placed the cost of completing Phase 2 of the Blekusu Coastal Protection Project at somewhere between $80 million to $83 million. This figure would have been doubled now because of inflation. This significant disparity underscores the urgent need for additional resources to ensure a holistic and sustainable intervention.

More importantly, I strongly appeal that, this time around, the coastal protection effort should not focus solely on rock works such as groynes and revetment. While rock works have been effective in certain areas in the past, they alone cannot fully address the scale of land loss experienced in these new areas. There is a felt need for land reclamation through dredging and beach nourishment techniques to restore the over 300 metres of land lost to the sea and the millions of cubic metres of sandy beaches eroded over the years. This approach is the only way to bring true restoration to these communities - allowing them to rebuild, reclaim their livelihoods in fishing, fish processing, and beach tourism, and find hope for the future.

Call for International Humanitarian Support

We also take this opportunity to call upon international bodies, including the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), ECOWAS, European Union (EU), UNICEF, World Bank (WB), World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), African Development Bank (ADB), and other humanitarian organizations to step in with urgent relief and support. Given the scale of displacement and the dire conditions faced by the affected populations, international assistance is crucial to ensuring adequate resettlement, access to basic necessities, and the rebuilding of essential infrastructure.

Finally, Mr. President, the people of Agavedzi, Salakope, Amutsinu, Adina, and the surrounding communities are at a breaking point. They have lost everything - homes, ancestral graves, sacred groves and sources of livelihood. The commitment of your administration is commendable, but we need urgent, scaled-up, and holistic intervention to reclaim lost land, protect what remains, and restore the economic lifeline of these coastal communities.

I trust in your leadership and swift action to bring lasting relief and rehabilitation to my people.

Yours sincerely,

-sgn-

Joel Degue

Environmental Activist,

Centre for Natural Resources and Environmental Management ( CNREM)

(0242501638/[email protected])