Some aggrieved youth, calling themselves 'Concerned Youth of Kedzi' in the Keta Municipality of the Volta region are protesting the Assembly's decision to open the Keta lagoon into the sea. The opening of the floodgate and the sand bar, they said, would cause more havoc in the area, hence the demonstration against the intended exercise by the Assembly. Mr Raphael Kwame Normegbor, the Assembly member for the area, in a press release, stated that the youth were not against the partial opening of the floodgate “but rather against the cutting of the sand bar and the spillage of the lagoon into the sea.” “Our chiefs and people were not consulted, and this is a total disrespect to us,” he stated. Mr Normegbor stated that the stakeholders of the three assemblies along the coastal belt as well as the engineers did not engage any of their Chiefs, opinion leaders and residents in the areas about the intended activities. He said the assemblies and engineers would then have to explain to the residents the measures to be put in place to relocate them in case of any unforeseen disaster. Mr Normegbor claimed that no proper information and education were given to chiefs who were left in the dark during a press conference and advised the authorities to ask the Volta River Authority (VRA) to dredge the Ada estuary to avert the flooding of homes at Anloga and other places. Mr Normegbor again cautioned that no one should open the flood control gate and the sand bar at Azizadzi without any proper engagement with the chiefs and the people of the area. Meanwhile, Mr Emmanuel Gemegah, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Keta in the Volta Region has stated that the three Assemblies along the coastal belt have completed extensive consultations to open the Keta lagoon floodgate and Sand bar sited at Azizadzi. This, according to him, would allow free flow of the lagoon into the sea to mitigate the devastating flood incidents in the area. Mr Gemagah, at a press conference held on Friday to address the ongoing flood situations in Keta, Ketu South, and Anloga Districts, said all the necessary consultations with stakeholders were conducted. “We consulted traditional authorities, renowned engineers, and others to open the lagoon into the sea,” he said. He explained that the urgency of the situation was crucial and needed immediate action to address the current situation to prevent any destruction to the major road linking the three Districts as well as other communities, and national assets located in the area. “On October 19, a total of 24 communities within Keta were affected by the floods and 19 Basic schools with a total population of 9,803 pupils, were displaced.” Mr Gemegah also said that the consultations revealed that the Keta lagoon has currently risen to the height of 1.382 metres as compared to that of 0.592 of the sea. He urged the communities to do away with all forms of fears and support them to carry out the exercise to create an easy flow of the lagoon into the sea without any damage to the communities.