‘I Am Not Constructing Drains For Votes’ – Lydia Alhassan Declares
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayawaso West Wuogon, Hon. Lydia Seyeram Alhassan who has embarked on several processes to end perennial flooding in Westlands and its environs within the Ayawaso west Wuogon Constituency has declared that the interventions she is putting in place to control the flooding are “must-do” initiatives.
According to her, floods are natural disaster and solutions must be found to ensure that in the coming years, residents would not be affected.
“It’s a must-do project and that’s why I am doing it and not of electoral benefits,” she said.
The MP, whose is poised to end the continuous floods in parts of the constituency, deployed personnel from the Hydrological Services Department to visit areas mostly affected by the heavy downpour.
In an interview, she rebutted claims that the timing of the construction of the drain was for electoral benefit.
According to her she has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for just two years and the construction of the drains is not the first project she is embarking on.
“I have constructed roads and other bridges so nobody can say I doing this for votes. They can’t say that,” she said.
Hon. Lydia Seyeram Alhassan also averred that “it’s a natural disaster and we have to find solution to it. It’s a must-do project and that’s why I am doing it and not of electoral benefits”.
She however charged personnel from the Hydrological Services Department to treat the project as an emergency to help relief residents of their plight.
She indicated that her tour through the affected areas and a detailed assessment of the situation have established that the culvert is too small to carry the flood discharges, which overtops the roads and cause the floods, hence the ongoing project of building more suitable culverts.
Meanwhile, Head of Drainage Engineering Seth Kudzordzi who lead a team to assess the situation, explained that the detailed surveying is aimed at redesigning a new culvert to bring an end to the flood.
“Once it’s replaced with a culvert of adequate size, there won’t be any flooding again,” he assured.
The drainage construction is expected to be completed within 2 months after the contract is awarded.
By PROSPER AGBENYEGA