By Phillip Antoh
President John Dramani Mahama has promised to accelerate the long-delayed West Africa Coastal Areas Management (WACA) project, following fresh tidal wave damage in Fuveme, Volta Region.
The $150 million World Bank-backed initiative, meant to protect vulnerable shoreline communities, stalled during the 2024 election cycle.
Visiting the affected stretch on Tuesday, Mahama acknowledged that the sea had broken through parts of the coastline, reigniting fears of erosion and flooding among residents. “We heard the sea is breaking through, so we came to take a look,” he said.
The president traced the genealogy of sea defence in the region: the Rawlings administration’s original Keta Sea Defence, his own earlier Blekusu 1 project, and the ongoing Blekusu 2.
The WACA scheme, he explained, is designed to cover the remaining gap including Fuveme, Ketu South and parts of Anloga with groynes to break wave strength, coconut and mangrove planting to stabilise soils, and estuary management.
But implementation has been patchy. Mahama disclosed that work paused in 2024 due to election-related disruptions. Since his return to office, he said, the feasibility study has been completed and the project is now at the design stage. Procurement the actual construction is next.
“Very soon, you’ll see that work will start on your coastal area,” he assured residents, without giving a firm timeline for the $150 million programme.
Observers note that coastal protection in the Volta Region has long moved in fits and starts, often reviving around election seasons.
The president was careful to stress that while some other World Bank-funded projects have been repurposed, WACA’s allocation remains intact.
In the interim, Mahama announced a palliative: dredging by the Volta River Authority to clear siltation in the estuary, which he said forces water to find destructive outlets. “If we dredge it, it allows more water to flow out into the sea,” he explained.
For now, residents of Fuveme are left with a promise of speed and a short-term dredge while the full defence remains in the design phase.