President John Dramani Mahama has ordered immediate action to clear blocked waterways in Accra after an aerial inspection revealed widespread encroachment and illegal dumping that worsened Sunday’s flooding.
Addressing the media after touring the affected areas, the President said government would convene a National Security Council meeting to coordinate enforcement measures.
“We’ll call a National Security Council meeting. We’re asking every district to identify together with the Works and Housing Ministry where the blockages in the channels are… so that we can earmark those places for removal.”
Mr. Mahama said the flooding was driven by a combination of climate change, rapid urbanisation and human activities.
“Increasingly every year we’re getting more rain in Accra than we used to get.”
He explained that Accra’s natural drainage system has come under increasing pressure as development continues to obstruct streams that flow into the Atlantic Ocean.
“People continue to build, it restricts the path of the streams on their way to the Atlantic. So that’s an engineering problem.”
The President also disclosed that the aerial survey exposed several illegal dumping sites, particularly in wetlands that have been turned into refuse dumps before being sold for development.
“Even in the air, we discovered many illicit dumping sites… people have gone to create a waste dumping ground.”
He said the destruction caused by flooding demonstrates the consequences of allowing waterways to be obstructed.
“Anytime you begin to take action and you start breaking houses, people think that government is inhumane. But when the problem arises like this flood, it affects everybody.”
Mr. Mahama urged Ghanaians to support efforts to restore drainage channels, insisting that both engineering interventions and behavioural change are needed to permanently address flooding in the capital.
