Your Excellency: A Reminder and a Call to Urgent Action for the People of Agavedzi, Salakope, Amutsinu, and Adina

I write to you as a concerned citizen of this Republic and as a voice for the voiceless – the over 600 residents of Agavedzi, Salakope, Amutsinu, and Adina who have, for the past two months, been left in a state of despair following the devastating tidal waves that ravaged their homes and livelihoods. This is my third letter to you in 2 just months.

Your visit to these affected communities two months ago brought with it a wave of hope. Many believed that your presence signalled a new beginning – a prompt and compassionate response to restore dignity to those who lost everything. Sadly, apart from the initial relief items you brought and the subsequent stipend provided through the World Food Programme and NADMO, not much has happened since then.

Today, Mr. President, many of the affected citizens continue to sleep in church buildings, in the open, and by the roadside. The rains have started, and they come with fierce winds, worsening an already desperate situation. The danger this poses to life, especially for children, the elderly, and women, cannot be overstated.

As the first gentleman of the land, I appeal to you with all urgency and humility to begin the process of resettling these citizens into safe, decent shelters within the next 21 days. Indeed, these are also Ghanaians, not second-class citizens. They deserve better from the country they call home at this particular time.

Mr. President, if there should be no concrete actions on the ground within this period, I will be left with no option but to lead the affected communities in a massive, peaceful demonstration to express our deep displeasure at this seeming neglect. Furthermore, I will call on international partners and donors to withhold loans and grants to the central government and instead channel support directly to addressing the humanitarian needs and short to medium-term safety of the victims as well as long-term solutions to the coastal erosion.

Your Excellency, this is not a time for rhetoric or bureaucracy. It is a time for action. The lives, dignity, and well-being of our fellow Ghanaians are at stake. They have lost their all already and government is their only succour and salvation.

Please Mr. President, act now.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
-sgn-
Joel Degue
(+233242501638)
Concerned Citizen & Advocate for the People of Agavedzi, Salakope, Amutsinu, and Adina.