Chiefs and people of Fodzoku in the North Tongu District have expressed deep disappointment over unfulfilled promises following government acquisition of more than 3,100 acres of their fertile lands for construction of the Kpong Hydroelectric Dam.
The Kpong Hydro Dam, a run of river plant located downstream from the Akosombo Dam, currently generates nearly 150 Megawatts, contributing significantly to Ghana’s national power supply. Despite this, the community says decades old commitments have yet to be met following resettlement in 1980, forty five years ago.
At the climax of their annual Gligbaza festival on Saturday, December 27, 2025, acting Paramount Chief and Manklalo of Fodzoku Traditional Area, Togbe Kwasi Misrobi III, outlined persistent challenges faced by residents. These include limited access to safe drinking water, poor road conditions, and insufficient employment opportunities at the Volta River Authority (VRA).
We were promised houses for the citizens of Fodzoku, Togbe Misrobi III said. We petitioned the Government and the VRA several times, but there has been no response. We are still expecting these houses to be built. Should this continue to fail, we are prepared to implement Plan B.
He criticized the VRA for not offering employment opportunities to locals, despite the organization sponsoring some to pursue advanced degrees, including Masters and PhDs, in fields relevant to the company’s operations. According to him, the lack of local jobs forces young people to leave the community in search of work in urban areas.
It would be a source of great pride if our young men and women could access opportunities within Fodzoku, Togbe Misrobi III added. Allowing them to work here after completing their training would enable them to contribute to the community’s growth.
The Manklalo urged the VRA to fulfill its long standing obligations, including constructing houses, providing toilet facilities, repairing roads and drainage systems, and considering qualified locals for employment opportunities.
Fodzoku, an Ewe community near Juapong with a population exceeding 1,500, has only one standpipe for accessing water. The traditional leader said the people of Fodzoku are suffering due to their present condition and need assistance from the government, especially the VRA that resettled them at their present location.
How can a community of a population of over 1,500 have only one standpipe, the chief asked. It is woefully inadequate. We are celebrating this year’s festival in December purposely to raise funds to solve our water challenge in the community, even though that is not the only challenge that we have.
Assemblyman for Adafe Electoral Area, Franklin Apelete, explained that even though VRA did well with good layouts when they were resettled, they were facing serious challenges now because no gutters were constructed. He said during a downpour, six of their buildings collapsed as a result of water entering those homes.
The Kpong Dam was constructed between 1977 and 1982, with commissioning occurring in July 1982. Four villages were built to house people displaced by the project, according to historical records. The dam’s civil contractor was Impregilo of Italy, the same consortium that had just completed the Kariba Dam.
In addition to power generation, the project was designed to provide irrigation water for agriculture and municipal water supply. The powerhouse contains four turbine generator units with a combined nameplate capacity of 160 megawatts.
Despite the frustrations, the chief acknowledged VRA’s support for education and community events. He noted that the company continues to award scholarships to Fodzoku students at senior high school and tertiary levels and contributes to the annual Gligbaza festival with financial assistance.
Responding to the concerns, VRA Principal Community Relations Officer Mrs Rhoda Arthur reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to Fodzoku’s development. She encouraged traditional authorities to channel their requests and complaints through proper administrative procedures to ensure timely resolution.
The Fodzoku grievances mirror similar complaints from other communities hosting VRA infrastructure. In June 2025, residents of Akuse, which hosts the Kpong Dam, protested over the appalling state of roads. VRA had committed to executing a road project with urgency and pledged a completion date around May 2025, according to Ibrahim Awudu, Zonal Chairman of assemblymen in Akuse. Yet as of June 2025, the project remained unexecuted with no machinery or work commenced.
Residents and local leaders of Akuse repeatedly voiced their dissatisfaction, highlighting that while VRA has developed impeccable road infrastructure within its estates and offices, the larger community remains underserved and neglected. The situation is even more disheartening when one considers the presence of asphalted roads leading directly to the Kpong Dam, contrasting sharply with the pothole ridden roadways in the community.
VRA’s experience with resettlement programs dates back to the Akosombo Dam construction between 1961 and 1965. That project necessitated relocating about 80,000 people who represented one percent of the population. People of 700 villages were relocated into 52 resettlement villages two years prior to the dam’s completion.
The experience of resettlement was traumatic for many communities. Most people did not believe that their homes and farms would be flooded. After the first year, 59 percent of the settlers left the resettlement villages, convinced that the Government had reneged on its commitment to provide them better living conditions, according to World Bank assessments.
By 1970, resettlement sites had undergone significant ecological and economic changes. The climate had noticeably changed, becoming hotter and drier, a phenomenon observers variously attributed to creation of the lake and to VRA’s extensive land clearing efforts in preparation for mechanized farming. Increased aridity not only adversely affected flora and fauna but also led to loss of soil cover and soil erosion, drastically lowering crop yields.
VRA was established in 1961 with the mandate to generate, transmit and distribute electricity under the Volta River Development Act. In 2005, after a major amendment to the VRA Act in the context of Ghana Government Power Sector Reforms, VRA’s mandate is largely restricted to generation of electricity.
In 1995, a combined effort between VRA and the Ghana Government realized the establishment of a special fund known as the VRA Resettlement Trust Fund, aimed at providing socio economic interventions and economic empowerment solutions to 52 resettlement townships as approved by the Managing Trustees.
The Gligbaza Festival, which started ten years ago, signifies the enduring spirit of Fodzoku’s tradition, the rich tapestry of their heritage and the strength of the people under King Agorkoli at Nortsi in Togo. It is a vibrant testament of their cultural value and history, which defines the people of the traditional area.
Three people from the community, Rita Ketikpo, Nancy Akpo and Emmanuel Kwame Adjagli, complained bitterly about the water situation and called for joint efforts by VRA and the North Tongu District Assembly to solve their problem. He therefore called for VRA and the North Tongu District Assembly to come to their aid.
The VRA operates a total installed electricity generation capacity of 2,547 megawatts. The two main hydro plants, Akosombo and Kpong Generating Stations both located on the Volta River have 1,020 megawatts and 160 megawatts respectively. These are complemented by solar plants and thermal facilities across the country.
