Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has revealed that efforts to address flooding have been hindered by various human activities, including the filling of wetlands and lagoons and the dumping of solid waste in drains.
According to him, although there’s been allocation of some GHC450 million for drain construction and desilting since 2018, these activities have made it challenging to tackle the recurring issue of flooding. He indicated that such activities as the filling of wetlands and lagoons, the dumping of solid waste in drains, among others are some of the human impediments.
“… It has become more evident that human activities are severely impeding the government’s efforts to tackle flooding. The observation includes blocking of lagoons and wetlands with construction materials for development purposes, building on drainage channels and blocking the free flow of stormwater, dumping of solid waste in drains thereby reducing their capacity to hold stormwater and the gap in the enforcement of planning and building laws by the various MDAs.”
Francis Asenso-Boakye
Furthermore, Mr Asenso-Boakye, who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bantama, stated that flooding in the capital, Accra, especially, was considered a national security issue since effective law enforcement has a role to play in resolving the issue confronting the country. To this, he noted that the Ministry was engaging with other relevant agencies to resolve the issue.
“… Subsequently, the Cabinet constituted a committee to develop a comprehensive plan with appropriate measures to strengthen the enforcement of laws relating to lands and sitting of buildings. While the Committee does its work, my Ministry will continue its engagement with the National Security Ministry in seeking support for the Assemblies to enforce planning laws and building regulations.”
Francis Asenso-Boakye
Projects aimed at mitigating effects of flooding
Commenting on the gains made on the projects aimed at mitigating the effects of flooding in Accra, the housing minister revealed that since 2018, the government had committed more than GH¢400 million to address flooding under a special programme. He explained that under the programme, 384 desilting projects and 202 channel projects were initiated.
“… 370 desilting projects representing 96 per cent have been completed and 84 drainage channel projects have been completed, with the remaining 118 at various stages of completion and the effects have been the mitigation of flood hazards in beneficiary communities.”
Francis Asenso-Boakye
Meanwhile, Mr Asenso-Boakye has called on parliament to allocate a portion of road funds to the construction of drains in the country. He stated that given the impact of drains on the lifespan of roads; the sanitation levy, in light of the impact of solid waste drainage capacity and the Common Fund, recognizing the need for a holistic and efficient drainage system, there’s the need to implement the allocation of fund.
“By doing so, we will clearly show our nation’s unwavering dedication to addressing this age-old challenge in a comprehensive manner.”
Francis Asenso-Boakye
Furthermore, the works and housing minister noted that the scale of flooding challenge the country faces are enormous, and that with the impact of climate change, it could potentially get worse. In light of this, he emphasized the need for a dedicated source of funding to addressing the impact of flooding on lives and livelihoods.
It will be recalled that in 2021, Mr Asenso-Boakye revealed that the government had spent GHC 230 million in the previous four years in providing proper drainage systems across the country towards addressing the perennial flooding in some parts of the country. To this, he stated that government remained committed to providing more resources to the sector to address the menace.
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