The Member of Parliament for the Wa West Constituency, Peter Lanchene Toobu, on Monday, August 11, 2025, donated 50 life-saving jackets to the Wa West District Assembly to be distributed to communities situated along the Black Volta River.
This donation comes weeks after a tragic incident on July 20, 2025, where two young adults drowned in the Black Volta River. The canoe they were traveling in reportedly capsized midway around the Bankpama community in Wa West as they were returning from a funeral in neighboring Burkina Faso. The victims, who were part of a group of six, were not wearing life jackets, while four others survived the incident.
Prompted by this sad event and other similar incidents, the MP’s donation aims to promote river safety among local residents.
“A few weeks ago, colleagues of ours who were crossing the Black Volta got drowned, and I think that at the time, if they were wearing this protective jacket, their lives could have been saved,” Toobu stated. “And we have learnt from that to say never again to somebody out of compulsion to cross the river and get drowned in the water. I don’t want to hear that again.”
During his engagement with assembly staff prior to the donation, Toobu also cautioned against the activities of illegal mining, which he described as a major challenge for successive governments.
He emphasized, “The Black Volta is Wa West, and Wa West is the Black Volta. It is our life, and we would do everything within our capacity to ensure that we keep it away from illegal mining.”
He further charged the Ghana Blue Water Guards to provide support to ensure the Black Volta is protected.
Richard Wulor, the District Chief Executive for Wa West, received the jackets on behalf of the beneficiary communities. He expressed his appreciation to the MP, stating that the jackets would be of great help to residents and would also improve the work of the District NADMO.
“We wish to assure him that these life jackets will be used for the intended purpose, and to task him to ensure that a team is put in place around the communities along the Black Volta to ensure that nobody crosses the river again without wearing the life jacket. Every life lost is very precious,” Wulor said.
