Energy Minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh has incurred the wrath of Ketu South legislator, Abla Dzifa Gomashie over his recent comments on last month’s tidal waves disaster in Keta.

Matthew Opoku Prempeh, popularly known as Napo, told host of Asempa FM’s 'Ekosii Sen' show he would lead a demonstration in Kumasi, where his constituency, Manhyia South is, if the Finance Minister makes a “mistake” to include funding for the Keta Sea defence project in the 2022 Budget.

The Minority in Parliament, as part of their demands for the government to review the 2022 Budget, asked for provision to be made for the construction of the Keta Sea defence which started under the erstwhile NDC administration.

Mr. Opoku Prempeh rejected the proposal in strong terms, saying there had been similar disasters in other parts of the country including Kumasi where flooding situations had occurred and so it would be unjustified for the Minority to “point a gun to the government’s head” to budget for a solution to the disaster that happened in Keta.

He claimed that the opposition NDC, had misapplied funding that was secured in the past to build a sea defence in Keta and thus has no moral right to force this government.

Madam Gomashie, responding to the comments, on NewsNight on Monday, said the Manhyia South MP’s comments were unministerial and smacked of bigotry and tribalism.

“When we ask for the state to pay attention to the disaster that we were bedevilled with, it was not to threaten anyone in this country …it was a demand that some of us in this country are facing the force majeure which hit my specific community three times this year. And if we ask the state to alleviate our suffering and then a Minister of State speaks about my people in such despicable terms?”

“It is intellectually bankrupt for him to say that because he has a flooding in his place when I have flooding in my place and I have spoken about it and demanded the state does something about it, he should have the effrontery to sit on a radio station and say that if you respond to her, I would organise a demonstration. How dare you, Napo? How dare you, Minister?… Can you speak with citizens of this country with some respect?”

Four thousand people were displaced in the three districts of Anloga, Keta and Ketu south all in the Volta region when sea waves struck in several coastal communities. The disaster, the third to be recorded this year alone, has drawn widespread calls for the government to do more to protect lives and property in the area as fears of more sea wave attacks remain.

Opposition NDC MPs, who have been resolute in their quest not to work with the government to pass its 2022 Budget, are now using the situation as one of their bargaining chips.