Residents in flood-hit communities within Weija-Gbawe are accusing authorities of failing to activate established warning systems before the latest dam spillage, arguing that earlier communication could have reduced the scale of destruction and displacement.

Assembly Member for the area, Mawuenyega Atukpa, claims community leaders had noticed rising water levels days before the flooding and had reached out to officials over concerns.

“Today marks three days since I called the Ghana Water Company to tell them that we had noticed the water level kept rising and asked what the problem was and that they should do something about it,” he said.

He said residents were initially assured that spillage would be managed carefully.

“They assured us that we should wait, and that if the weather became sunny and it didn't rain by evening time, they would limit the spillage so that it would pull away the rainwater from the ground,” he stated.

“Only for us to get to about 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. and realise that they had rather opened the dam to spill water.”

Central to the concerns raised by local leaders is what they describe as a failure to notify communities before water levels rose.

“Secondly, the Ghana Water Company Limited did not give us any prior notice that the dam would be opened for them to spill water and that the water level would rise to that extent,” Mr. Atukpa alleged.

According to him, there is an existing communication structure used during emergency situations that was not activated.

“They did not inform anybody because we have an information centre here where we make announcements anytime the spillage is about to happen. But this time around, they did not inform us.”

He explained that under normal procedures, information is expected to move through local government structures before reaching residents.

“They are supposed to notify the Coordinating Director so that he informs the Municipal Chief Executive. Then the information is passed around and even gets to the Assembly Members, Chiefs, and the flood-prone zones, so that we can make announcements. But nothing of that sort was done.”

The Assembly Member also dismissed suggestions that restrictions on public announcements due to the ban on noise-making prevented communication.

“This is an issue of a humanitarian crisis, so they cannot give such an excuse for such a serious problem affecting the lives of over 10,000 people,” he said.

His concerns add to growing criticism over the handling of communication ahead of the controlled spillage from the Weija Dam, which Ghana Water Limited says became necessary after water levels exceeded safe operational limits.

Although rainfall reduced on Thursday, many residents continue to battle stagnant floodwaters, damaged property, and disrupted livelihoods as emergency response efforts continue across affected communities.