Accra flooding: We’re all guilty – Suhuyini

The Member of Parliament for Tamale North Alhassan Suhuyini has said “we are all guilty” for the recurring flooding of parts of the capital, Accra anytime it rained.

The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) said three people died in Wednesday’s heavy downpour in the capital.

The downpour led to the flooding of several parts of Accra, notable among the flooded areas in the capital included, the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Odawna and Dome.

“We all have a role to play to check these floods. Leadership has a role to play to check the flooding and we all form part of leadership,” Suhuyini told Morning Starr host Francis Abban on Friday.

He added: “Most people are building in waterways, most are dumping rubbish in drainage systems and the like. We have reduced our worth as a country into maximizing or losing votes. We are all guilty of that somehow.”

Suhuyini further observed: “It gets tiring talking about the same thing every year. Floods, loss of lives and properties, analysing speeches and assurances, emergency numbers, leaders walking through flood waters to assess etc. We are so blessed to a point that we have become so lazy. I say this because we cannot compare our floods to the tsunami and other disasters others are dealing with.”

In June 2016, a two-year contract was awarded to Dredge Masters Limited for the desilting and dredging of the Odaw channel and restoration of the Korle Lagoon to avert the perennial flooding in Accra.

The scope of works also includes the redesign and construction of the KLERP interceptor and breakwater at the outfall. The channel under the scope starts from the Odaw Onyasia confluence at Carprice in Accra, through Avenor, Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, and the Agbogbloshie-South Kaneshie drain (the Upper and Lower Lagoon).

Dredging and haulage operations in the Odaw channel and Korle Lagoon started in April 2019 and according to the company it had so far desilted over one million cubic meters of waste material from the Odaw River and Korle Lagoon.

“The work we’ve done so far has reduced the flooding situation we witnessed at Circle recently. In fact, our work has significantly reduced flooding in the circle area,” Sena Adiepena, Operations Manager for Dredge Masters told Abban on the Morning Starr Friday.

Former National Chairman aspirant of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Dr Fred Amankwah said a ban on plastic use would help check the country’s struggles with flooding.

“We know the topography of the Kwame Nkrumah Circle since 1960. We know the challenges there. Are we doing enough?” he asked.

Dr Amankwah told Abban on the Morning Starr that pulling down structures in waterways may not necessarily help the situation. He has therefore called for the relocation of the capital.

“What about relocating the capital to another region? Let’s ban plastic bag usage, move the capital from Accra and reintroduce civic education in our schools,” he stated.