Former President, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings has for the past several weeks been supporting efforts to remove weeds from the lower basin of the Volta Lake to rid the area of water borne eye diseases which have affected almost the entire population of the Wume-Tefle Area of the Volta Region.

Following awareness created by the combined efforts of the former President and Unit Chairmen of the NDC in the affected area, the Volta River Authority (VRA) has employed amphibious weed harvesters to clear a large section of the Volta basin that has been engulfed by a thick growth of riverweeds.

A visiting Italian medical team at the Comboni hospital in Sogakope treated about 30 children from the area of eye ailments recently.

The weeds have stagnated the flow of the river allowing for the breeding of parasites that carry eye diseases.

The VRA team embarking on the weed removal project say it will take 18 months to complete as the weeds have so engulfed the river and silted its path the clearing process is painstakingly slow.

Flt. Lt. Rawlings was spending the weekend in the area supporting the project when he was hit with the terrible news of the fire devastation at his Ridge residence in Accra.

Having travelled to Accra and ensured that the family are safely accommodated temporarily, the former President is back supporting the VRA team who spend eight hours daily on the weed removal.

“The project has already seen an improved flow on the river making it more difficult for the parasites to breed,” he said.

Former President Rawlings who has been associated with the Wume-Tefle area for the past 30 years said the primary vocation there in the past was oyster and shrimp fishing but with the advent of electricity, the inhabitants moved into other areas of economic activity and that led to the neglect of that section of the river leading to the heavy silting of the river with weeds.

The operators of the weed harvester, Messrs Thomas Agbasi, MCintock Odoi and Tetteh Okantey were commended for the difficult work they were doing to make the lives of the people of Wume-Tefle comfortable. The former President has built a working relationship with them and often helps out with the harvester.

Visit Former President Rawlings’ blog site - http://jjrawlings.wordpress.com/