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NDC presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama says that the perennial flooding in both the south and north of the country is due to a lack of effective planning and proper engineering.
According to Mr. Mahama, this can be solved by hiring the services of experts and contractors who will be paid under the Big Push program.
“Accra is located between the mountains and the sea and when it rains, the water has to reach the sea. But between the mountain and the sea is this great city that is not planned with houses built on its water path, so naturally the water recedes and floods the city.
“This is basically the problem and we need an engineering solution. Accra’s problem is engineering and also compliance with planning rules, ”he emphasized.
The former president’s claim follows several reports on the ravages caused by flooding in parts of Accra and the five northern regions.
From mid-August to the end of September this year, parts of the northeastern region have experienced massive flooding as a result of heavy rains, exacerbated by the Bagre dam spill in Burkina Faso.
The incident led to the destruction of the homes of some 13,469 people and the death of six others.
While displaced residents have been transferred to schools, churches, and temporary camps established by the Northeast Regional Secretariat of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), authorities continue to turn to philanthropists and other civil society organizations for help.
In the southern part of the country, heavy rains in recent days have caused flooding in places like Adabraka, the Sahara and the West Lands.
As worrying as the situation is, the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMET) says the current heavy rains, which are often accompanied by strong winds, would continue until November.
But because bad environmental practices, including building houses on waterways and dumping garbage into open drains, remain a problem, many have expressed concern that more rains will lead to more havoc and deaths.
Referring to development, Mahama, who spoke in an interview on Woezor TV, said that his next administration will handle the flood problem when he is elected to power.
The former president was optimistic that the measures that his government will implement will put an end to the perennial floods in the country.
“Now we have local government authorities that cannot manage the development of our communities and we have traditional rulers who are willing to sell any land, even on river beds.
“So the problem is engineering and it will take a lot of money to fix it.
“So we’re trying to see the big momentum and see how we can funnel some of the money into that.”
He further added that these plans were extended to all parts of the country experiencing flooding and are not limited to Accra.
“There are also problems in other places like Kumasi and we will see all that, but the north is crossed by the Black and White Volta and when the Bagre dam opens, its tributes flood.
“But although that’s difficult, we came up with the Pwalugu Dam so that before they open the Bagre Dam we will open the Pwalugu Dam to take in the water,” he explained.
Mr. Mahama also concluded his tour of the Central Region that began on Wednesday, October 14.
