Floods in Accra: Works and housing minister Asenso-Boakye tours affected communities

The Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has led a technical team comprising of officials from the Ministry of Works and Housing, the Hydrological Services Department and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), to visit several communities which were affected by the heavy downpour over the weekend.

The purpose of the Minister’s visit was to ascertain the cause and impact of the flooding and to commiserate with the affected people. The Minister toured affected areas such as Odawna, Nkrumah Circle, Adabraka, Osu, Teshie, Sakumono and parts of Tema.

He observed that, “areas that had benefited from the construction of major drains and other flood control measures under government’s National Flood Control Programme (NFCP) did not suffer the adverse impact of the floods.”

The Minister noted that the government has invested over of GH¢450 million in the National Flood Control Programme alone over the past few years and that has culminated in the reduced incidence of flooding, particularly in major flood prone areas in Accra.

He further added that the government is collaborating with the World Bank to invest another $200 million dollars in the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development Project to tackle the perennial flooding challenge in the Odaw Drainage Basin in flood control measures across the country in the past few years

The Minister urged residents to support the efforts of government by maintaining proper solid waste practices and desist from indiscriminate dumping of solid waste and building in waterways. “The fight against floods is a shared responsibility”, he stated.

The Minister also reminded Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to strictly enforce relevant laws to deter citizens from building in waterways and other unauthorized places. He further urged them to take steps to remove developments obstructing the free flow of water to reduce the risk of flooding.

Accompanying the Minister on the tour were officials of the Ministry including Mr. Solomon Asoalla, Chief Director, Rev Osei Yaw, Director of PPBME, Mr. Hubert Osie Wusu-Ansa, Acting Director of the Hydrological Services Department,and Dr. John Kissi; Official of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) led by Mr. Abu Ramadan, a Deputy Director General and Chief Executive of the Klottey Korley Municipal Assembly, Nii Adjei Tawiah.

Philip Asiawo

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