AMA blames population explosion for its woes

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly is reported to be blaming population for its woes.

It has therefore suggested for a fast track approach to the development of rural communities to stem the rural-urban drift, thereby helping to reduce the impact of environmental and other social problems in the nation’s capital city, Accra.

The Chief Executive Officer of AMA, Solomon Offei Darko in an interview with “the Ghanaian Voice” newspaper observed that problems looming in the city stem from the fact that there is population explosion in Accra.

He complained that at the moment the population growth rate in the country stands at 4.2 per cent ad exaggerated that over half a million people coming to Accra daily. “Out of this number only 60 per cent go back to their communities,” he lamented. Darko explained that such a situation poses a lot of pressure on the entire social facilities and utility services provided in the city.

“People from other parts of the country are now flock into Accra. This brings the insanitary condition. People are sleeping in kiosk and so forth, which have no toilet facilities and defecate in drains, throw garbage into the drains and that is the biggest problem facing the city authorities today,” he complained.

Meanwhile, an Urban Planner and Former Director of the AMA Town and Country Planning Department, Mrs Justina Anipa has castigated against policy makers for paying lip service to the issue of urban development in the country.

“Now there are no systematic and sustainable steps taken to achieve urban development in the country,” she said.