The perennial floods in Accra may not end anytime soon as some parts of the city get flooded every year whenever rain falls.
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Accra floods: The incompetence of Ghanaian leaders over the years
Flooding has become an annual phenomenon in Accra in recent decades and has severe impacts on the poor and vulnerable.
Accra floods
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Persistent floods over the years in Ghana, especially in the major cities, Accra and Kumasi, have been blamed on the behaviour and activities of some Ghanaians.
Ghanaians will not forget the heavy rainfall that resulted in one of the biggest floods in the capital on June 3, 2015, popularly called the 'twin disaster'.
The floods and a fire outbreak from a fuel station resulted in the death of over 200 people and damage to properties running into millions of Ghana cedis.
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The history of flooding in the country has been a recurring happening.
Indeed, there has not been a recent rainy season in Ghana that has not recorded some form of flooding.
The rains accounted for the submerging of roads, houses and cars in various areas of the city.
Vehicles and passengers have had to struggle their way out of the flood waters.
One may blame the perennial floods on the inadequate drains and waste management practices. These have been a few of the major reasons rain water cannot flow freely, resulting in drainage systems spilling over during rainstorms.
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Inadequate capacity of some critical culverts and construction of buildings on water are also part of the bigger problem.
The perceived and actual causes of flood hazards have come under tremendous debate.
Heavy rains on Wednesday, May 29, 2019, left parts of Accra inaccessible, again.
Tackling floods have been a major source of worry to successive governments.
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The time has come for a more permanent solution to be found to the perennial flooding.
The government has consistently called for attitudinal change on the part of the citizenry, especially as regards the dumping of refuse in gutters or drains.
But it appears it has not really occurred to governments over the years that if the gutters and drains are covered, citizens would not have the chance to dump refuse in them.
In 2018, the government through the Ministry of Works and Housing assured Ghanaians that it is poised to end the vicious cycle of rain induced flooding in Accra.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta-Kyea said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had allocated an amount of GH¢200 million to solve flooding in the country.
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He disclosed that the World Bank was interested in making a huge investment to assist Ghana to tackle the situation with a commitment of US$100 million.
He stated: "This is the first time the Government of Ghana has committed itself in the sum of GH¢200,000 to addressing the mocking national issue of flooding.
"In comparison, the previous government, in 2015, committed a paltry sum of GH¢17,136,342 and GH¢11,802,718 in 2016, which are by every measure a drop in the mighty ocean.
Fighting floods must not be left to the government alone. Civil society groups need to join hands to avoid floods in the country.
Residents must cooperate with the assemblies to keep clean environments through proper waste management practices to save our communities from floods.
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Ghana has experienced floods too often and it is time to put our hands together to prevent lives and properties from being swept away by floods.
Gradually, Ghanaians are losing the desire and ability to hold our leaders accountable on promises made on campaign platforms.
On May, 21, 2019, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo inspected ongoing dredging works on the Odaw river, and the construction of a Storm Drain at Kaneshie 1st Light, in Accra.
He toured construction sites to demonstrate the commitment of his government to solving the problem of floods, as has been done by the leaders since the first floods in 1936, when the first floods in Accra were reported.
During the President's tour, it emerged that in June 2016, after the floods and fire disaster, the administration of the NDC had engaged Dredge Masters Limited for a 2-year contract to desilt and dredge the Odaw river channel and to restore the Korle lagoon to avert flooding.
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Accra floods again
Pulse Ghana
The contract was completed and then extended for 2 years by the current government. If it was successfully executed, why do we still have flooding?
One may ask what happened to the Korle Lagoon ecological restoration project funded with 160 million and the many contracts to desilt the Odaw river.
On Monday, May 27, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Subin, Eugene Boakye Antwi said that it is a waste of taxpayers money when government awards desilting contracts.
The lawmaker said most Ghanaians are the cause for the annual floods that ravage the country.
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He said "Littering is like a price in Ghana whereas it is an offence in other countries. Even when dustbins are placed at vantage points we still litter.
Accra floods
Pulse Ghana
"When I tell you the millions of dollars the government has spent desilting the Korle Lagoon and paying contractors you will be amazed, we have even extended the contract because the work is not done while these monies could have been used to develop and change lives in the country," he said adding that Ghanaians "politicise everything in the country" even when you drink water.
The only attitudinal change we need is that we should stop re-electing leaders who keep promising to solve perennial problems like floods etc.
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