THE ravages of the sea are having a toll on the fortunes of the people of the Ada Traditional Area. Not only has the sea erosion affected those who used to live along the coastline of Ada Foah and its surrounding communities, but the challenge has impeded the operations of the Ada Songhor Salt Project.
About 30 years ago, the coastline of Ada Foah could boast chains of shops in which traders carried out brisk business. The town was a major trading post serving as a transit point to Accra in the west and Keta in the east.
Presently, the sea has taken over large tracts of land which used to house very important landmarks and buildings, including the district assemblies offices, rendering many people homeless.
The ravages of the sea have disturbed the landing beach at Ada Foah hindering fishermen in their efforts to undertake brisk fishing for which is the main source of income for the people in the area.
Ada is also noted for its tourist attraction but again this very lucrative venture is under threat from sea erosion.
Beaches are assets the world over. However, this rich resource of the people of Ada cannot be exploited to the full because the sea erosion has blocked the ambience from the beautiful sand beaches and sea breeze.
The people are also blessed with the estuary at Azizanya, near Ada where the River Volta enters the sea but here again sea erosion has denied the area the opportunity to reap good dividends from this natural attraction.
Furthermore, the full benefits of the ‘white gold’; that is, salt, which nature has richly endowed the area, cannot be exploited to the full as the flooding from the sea has affected the flow of water into the lagoon.
The Songhor Salt Project is said to have huge salt resources which if properly harnessed can go a long way to address the endemic poverty in the area.
Ada sits on a pot of resources that can help to improve the living standards of the people. Let it not be said of the people of Ada that like the needle, “it is always in the midst of the fabric but it is always naked”.
Whatever the challenges, the DAILY GRAPHIC salutes the government for securing 68 million euros for the construction of a sea defence wall at Ada in order to protect lives and property.
It is also good news that President J.E.A. Mills, in his address to the people at Ada last Saturday, stated that the government was taking steps to rehabilitate the Songhor Lagoon and remove all bottlenecks that hindered the full utilisation of the lagoon to generate adequate revenue for the development of the area.
The actions of clans that own the Songhor Lagoon have held back progress in the area to such a level that the way forward requires that all the stakeholders bury the hatchet in the interest of peace and development.
The DAILY GRAPHIC reminds the people of Ada that without their own personal resolve to complement the efforts of the state, very little can be done by the government to change their living standards.
The present level of poverty in the area is unpardonable, especially in the midst of plenty.
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