Rawlings to stage a protest if Parliament fails to address rising sea levels

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has threatened to stage a “protest” if Parliament and government fail to check the increasing sea erosion in the coastal areas of the country.

According to him, a lot of the coastal communities are losing their lands to the sea at an alarming rate.

The issue, Mr Rawlings said, needs the critical attention of government to protect lives and properties. 

“It’s happening bit by bit. I am sharing this with you, because when it happens to you that is when you will appreciate how crucial it is to have soil under your feet,” he told a Parliamentary delegation led by the Speaker Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye at his residence.

He noted that, if it had to take him to protest at Parliament House with a placard with the inscription “give us some more groins” to ensure lands along the coast are protected, he will do it.

Rawlings tasked the leadership of Parliament to liaise with the Presidency to ensure people along the coastal areas are protected from erosion, adding that he will personally engage the President on the subject.

The ex-president urged government to extend the sea defence project from Keta to the Ghana-Togo border at Aflao to avert denying residents their places of abode.

“Mr Speaker you should pay a visit to the communities and see for yourself. We need to extend the ground beyond what they are now.”

He told the delegation that had called on him to commensurate with his family due to the demise of his mother.

Speaker of Parliament, Prof Aaron Mike Oquaye extended his heartfelt condolences to the Rawlings’ family and assured him of Parliament’s support during the final funeral rites of his late mother.

On his part, the Majority Leader of Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu urged the former President to remain firm during such difficult moments.

MP for Wa West, Joseph Yileh Chireh, who represented the Minority Leader, also extended his condolences on behalf of the Minority in Parliament.

Chairman of the Funeral Planning Committee, Dan Abodakpi announced that Rawlings’ mother’s final funeral rites will be held on October 24, 2020.

According to Dan Abodakpi, the body of the late mother of the former President will be taken to Dzelukope in Keta for the final internment after a funeral service at the State House.