Teppia Board Chairman, Most Rev Peter Paul Yelezuome Angkyier Speaks At Forum On Periodic Flooding Of Northern Ghana

Teppia Board Chairman, Most Rev Peter Paul Yelezuome Angkyier Speaks At Forum On Periodic Flooding Of Northern Ghana

The Tamale Ecclesiastical Province Partnership In Action (TEPPIA) of the Catholic Church in Northern Ghana in collaboration with TAMA Foundation and co-funded by Star Ghana Foundation have been convening series of dialogue to initiate conversations and partnership for joined up efforts on long term and sustainable solutions to the perennial flooding in Northern Ghana.

The annual torrential rainfall and the spillage of the Bagre Dam have often resulted in the flooding of communities along the White Volta basin in Northern Ghana. According to statistics from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), floods in Northern Ghana have claimed a total of 35 lives from 2018 to 2020. The statistics also indicated that about 100,000 people were displaced in 2018 alone bringing severe suffering on affected families and communities.

In one of the forums in Tamale, Most Rev. Peter Paul Yelezuome Angkyier, Chairman of Board of Directors of TEPPIA, shared his personal and the church’s experience on flood incidence in Northern Ghana, and the extent to which it destroyed lives and properties.

Bishop Peter Paul, in his presentation said the Catholic Church in the past years has used its structures to assist government and development partners to  provide reliefs to affected individuals and communities.

He pointed out that the housing structures are not well designed to withstand flood and therefore the need to strengthen our Technical and Vocational Schools to be equipped with building technologies that can withstand flood and its related issues.

Bishop Peter Paul said these water can be conserved for farming during the dry season but not just to cause destruction to lives and properties. And also, that trees could be planted at flood prone areas.

His Lordship stressed that there is the need to use an integrated approach to mitigate the periodic flooding in Northern Ghana.

The forum provided a platform for stakeholders to contribute to a roadmap and implementation plan for improving responses to the flood situations in Northern Ghana.