The Ghana Hotels Association has announced that the hospitality Industry in the Volta and Eastern Regions have been heavily impacted as a resulted of the spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong Dams.

The Volta River Authority (VRA) commenced the spillage of excess water in the Akosombo and Kpong hydro dams on September 15, 2023.

The spillage has forced many communities in the north, south, and Central Tongu districts of the Volta Region to evacuate, leaving them with no choice but to try and salvage what’s left of their belongings.

While the current inflow to the reservoir is pegged at 400,000 cubic feet of water per second, the authority says it is spilling just about 183,000 cubic feet of water, and they cannot ascertain when the spilling exercise will be over.

Meanwhile, thousands of people living along the Lower Volta Basin have been displaced with loss of property running into millions of cedis.

Speaking to Joy Business President of the association, Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyamike Jnr. Said hotels and recreational centers along the lake have been badly affected.

“The impact has been mainly on the operational areas, the outdoor sitting areas have generally been affected. It has also affected patronage of these hotels for obvious reasons. So it’s obvious these hotels at the river banks will have a lot of challenges from the spillage”, he stressed.

He told Joy Business the association will educate its members to take advantage of insurance schemes in its upcoming National Executive Council Meeting on October 18, 2023.

“We as an industry must start looking at insuring our premises against some these disasters that will befall us. We will be attending our National Executive Council Meeting this Wednesday to come up with ways to support our members who unfortunately found themselves in this situation”.

Meanwhile the association has asked its members affected by the spillage to avail themselves to the authorities for the necessary assistance and support in order to bounce back.