Residents of Anlo Beach, a coastal community in the Shama District of the Western Region, who had many of their houses swept away by last Sunday’s tidal waves, are calling on the government to help resettle them on an already acquired hilly location.
This according to them will help avoid another possible havoc from the devastating waves.
Tidal waves last Sunday 11th June, 2017, washed away 198 houses along the shores of the community and displaced the 838 residents occupying them.
The waves started at about 2:00am Saturday, but subsided on Sunday evening. Many residents were forced to vacate their homes on Sunday dawn when the waves flooded their rooms amidst sand.
Whist residents are still counting their losses, a community elder, John Kennedy, is appealing to the government to revisit an abandoned affordable housing project started for the community some 25 years ago.
He said, “When similar thing happened to us about 25 years ago, we called for resettlement.”
“Rural Housing at the time came in to build us affordable houses. But we do not know what happened, they came in later on and packed their things away….we are always calling. Whenever the tides rise, we call for this resettlement”.
“The chief and elders of Anlo Beach have already secured a new site. “What is left is the financial support for us to move to the area, so that our current place becomes a business enclave and the new site becomes where we sleep. We are appealing to the government to revisit the support they earlier had for us,” Mr. Kennedy added.
The Anlo Beach community is known for the harvesting of shrimps for ‘Shito.’
The community is accessed by either a canoe over River Prah through Shama from the western part of the community or by road from the northern part.
It has one of the cleanest beaches in the Western Region. The community also witnesses occasional hatching of Sea Turtles, as the area is suitable for the reproduction.
Despite the economic potential in the area, many of the people in the community are poor.
Clean drinking water is a challenge, despite been surrounded by the sea and River Pra.
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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana