By Joel Degue
“This letter is written with a heavy heart, deep sorrow, and yet a flicker of hope. It has been 90 days since your visit to the devastated coastal communities of Adina, Salakope, Amutsinu, and Agavedzi in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta Region. During your visit, you gave a solemn promise to resettle the displaced residents who had lost everything to the raging sea.
Today, with no action taken on that promise, the people remain in limbo – displaced, hopeless, and helpless. The sea has sealed the fate of part of Agavedzi and completely swallowed Salakope. Homes have been reduced to ruins. Schools, livelihoods, and sacred memories have been washed away. Now, with the rainy season upon them, hundreds of citizens – Ghanaians too, have no roof over their heads.
Mr. President, this is not merely an environmental disaster. It is a humanitarian emergency. Your own words gave these communities hope. But with each passing day, that hope fades into pains, pangs and pleas.
This is the fourth time I write to you in an open letter on this very issue, not to criticise, but to remind you of the pains of the children, the pangs of the women and mothers, the cries of the men who once were on their own, the despair of the elderly, and the silence of those who have lost too much even to speak.
We acknowledge that coastal protection works are being planned for the medium to long term, but what happens now? How can people wait for years when they no longer have a place they could call home, a safe place to sleep in, a roof over their head tonight or a wall to shield them from the rains the following day?
Mr. President, please feel their pains! Alleviate their pangs! Hear their humble pleas! This is a call for immediate action:
• Emergency shelter and relief support for the displaced;
• A clear and urgent resettlement plan for the affected communities;
• Transparency and timelines on coastal protection interventions for the medium to long term.
You are not just the Commander-in-Chief – you are the Father of the Nation. Fathers protect their homes, care for their children. These communities are part of our national family. They deserve to be seen, heard, and helped – not forgotten.
Mr. President, history is watching. Posterity will remember what you did or failed to do in the face of manageable disaster.
With sincerity of heart and urgency of time, I remain a citizen and not a spectator.”
