A recent attempt by Togo to assert its claim over Lake Volta has intensified tensions with Ghana, particularly in the context of talks regarding the cross-border water supply project from Sogakofe to Lomé, as reported by Ghanaian media.
Invited to provide an update on the cross-border water supply project from Sogakofe to Lomé before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament in Accra, the Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Dr. Clifford Braimah, revealed that Togo recently attempted to claim ownership of Lake Volta.
He denounced Togo’s position, accusing them of seeking to shift the majority of the risks associated with the project onto Ghana while taking an overwhelming 85% share of the water to be produced.
“The Togolese want to take raw water and treat it themselves. We say we can’t take raw water and pass communities along the line without connecting them. We want to treat the water in Sogakofe and convey it to Lomé so that people along the line can also benefit. They even want to claim the resource itself that we jointly own, Lake Volta, and we cannot bill them, but we feel the water that is coming is from Burkina Faso,” Dr. Braimah explained.
This statement has drawn attention to the disagreements between the two neighboring countries regarding the use of this shared resource, Lake Volta. The cross-border water supply project aims to transfer treated water from Sogakofe, located in the Volta Region of Ghana, to the Togolese capital, Lomé.
It should be noted that negotiations for this project began in 2005. Estimated at $110 million at the time, the project has struggled to take off due to the disputes between the two countries. As of now, Togolese authorities have not yet responded to this new statement from the Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).
