Akosombo Dam spillage: Everyone downstream will die if the dam overflows – Former VRA CEO rubbishes any blame

Former Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Ing. Kirk Koffi, has warned that allowing the Akosombo Dam to overflow would have resulted in catastrophic loss of life downstream.

Defending the decision to spill water from the dam in 2023, he dismissed attempts to assign blame for the destruction caused, stressing that it was a necessary move to prevent an even greater disaster.

“Those who run the facility don’t bridge the dam; if you do, everybody downstream will go, and you will not save anybody. That is, if the water overflows. 2023 was an unusual year,” he stated during an interview on Face to Face on Channel One TV.

The spillage displaced thousands of people across eight communities along the Volta River, with Mepe being the hardest hit. Despite public outrage, Ing. Koffi insists the event was driven by natural causes and not due to human error or negligence.

When asked whether anyone should be held accountable, he said: “No, no, it all depends… direct rainfall can impact what it comes from anywhere. It’s just a result of the inflow. You cannot hold them responsible because they would have died anyway.”

He explained that the dam’s operators had anticipated a drop in water levels by September 2023, but instead, inflows increased unexpectedly, forcing the VRA to intensify the spillage to protect the dam's integrity.

“By September 2023, when we were to see a downward trend in the inflow, it picked up, which was an indication, and they had to spill a little bit more,” he noted.

Ing. Koffi also praised the leadership of former President John Dramani Mahama and Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, for setting up a committee to address such emergencies in the future.

“Thanks to President John Dramani Mahama for his vision and foresight, as well as Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Hon. John Jinapor, for setting up this committee two years after the event.

“I believe they are looking more into the future to make sure it doesn’t happen again. I’m sure they might have been briefed,” he added.