Greater Accra threatened by illegal land development

Accra (Greater Accra) 003- Sheikh Ibrahim Quaye, Greater Accra Regional Minister has expressed concern about the sitting of buildings and other land development projects at unauthorized places.

He said the task of ensuring effective development management and control was by nature very difficult and varied. However, the Regional Co-ordinating Council had taken steps to regulate and speed up the issue of building permits to help solve the problem, he said.

Sheikh Quaye was addressing the Greater Accra Regional People's Assembly in Accra to mark "A Decade of Constitutional Rule and Two Years of Positive Change".

The assemblies are being held nation-wide on the theme: "Consolidating Ghana's Democracy through Peace, Unity and Development." He told the gathering that the perennial problem of flooding had become synonymous with Accra and Tema.

"Therefore in the area of drainage, more than 50 kilometres of drains and several box culverts as well as a number of pipe culverts are being constructed in the region. "At the same time, routine cleansing and de-silting of existing drains are also taking place especially in flood-prone areas."

Sheikh Quaye said through these interventions, the region had recorded some progress in reducing flooding last year and expressed the hope that the problem would soon be a thing of the past.

Touching on the environment, he said a new landfill site at Oblogo, near Weija, had been acquired to serve Accra for the next one-and-a-half years whilst plans are underway for the construction of a permanent landfill site at Kwabenya, near Accra.