By Alfred Adams
Sea erosion has become a raging nightmare for inhabitants living around beaches where there seems to be no availability of a sea defence wall to protect them from sea erosion.
It is said to be even worse when in times of high tidal waves, you may be in your room, and the waves arrive taking over your room and entire houses overnight, rendering you homeless.
This is the problem currently facing people living around or within communities close to the sea shore.
In Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis, the problem of sea erosion displacing the coastal inhabitants is rampant.
In areas such as New Takoradi, Ngyiresia,Upper Dixcove, Lower Dixcove and Shama among others, the problem of sea erosion is very disturbing.
In New Takoradi and Shama, there have been some effort to address the problem, but the effort is nothing good to write home about.
The sea defence wall project currently ongoing in both New Takoradi and Shama to address the problem of sea erosion has stalled.
In the Ahanta West District, for instance, one community which is sitting in the middle of sea erosion is New Amanful, otherwise known as ‘Amanful-Kuma, located southwest of Takoradi.
In this community, the problem of sea erosion has become so serious that in no time the sea would take over the whole community.
For now, the sea has succeeded in taking over a number of houses, a cemetery, church buildings, and roads among a host of others.
This development has left the inhabitants of New Amanful, whose livelihood depend on the sea, very worried. They do not when they would be the next victims of sea erosion.
In this community called New Amanful, there is no sight of serious business activity or recreation center in the area.
The only investor who risked putting up a recreation center, by name Captain Bridge, has had the resort damaged by the sea.
Consequently, the investor has started laying a sea defence wall to protect his property. He has consequently spent a whopping sum of GH¢50,000 on the laying of the defence wall, but this is not enough, and wants the government to assist.
A visit to New Amanful revealed the ugly spectacle of how the sea water has the potency of rendering the inhabitants homeless if nothing is done to save the situation.
In an interview with an elder of the community, Opayin Stephen Faido, he told this file that the inhabitants of the community, including himself, do not really sleep at night, because they do not really know when the sea would flood the place.
He confirmed that indeed the sea had succeeded in rendering some people in the community homeless. That apart, it had taken over the main road to a satellite community.
This ugly development, according to Opayin Faidoo, posed a grave danger to both their lives and property.
AGONY OF VICTIMS
Opayin Faidoo told this file that the pain and agony victims of the sea erosion go through was devastating.
He said the victims of the erosion had to squat with friends or relations for some years before they could eventually succeed in putting up a temporary structure to house themselves. He added that others who could not ended their lives.
On her part, another elder of the community, Mame Kwansima, confirmed how the sea had succeeded in taking over a cemetery, houses, roads and schools.
She has, therefore, appealed to the central government to come to their aid by erecting a sea defence wall to address the situation.
When this file visited the area, one thing that is believed to have contributed to the sea erosion is the problem of sand winning.
The inhabitants in the area, as well as others, are reported to be winning sand on the shoreline, and this has contributed to the problem of erosion.
A youth of the community, Richard Famous Mensah, confirmed to this file that sand winning has been occurring in the area, and had contributed directly to the problem of sea erosion.
He told this file that people outside the community used to come to win sand there, but they put a stop to it.
Pix: How sea erosion has exposed the soil
Pix: Mame Kwansima speaking to this reporter
Pix: The road to Amanfu-Kuma