Land guards shield developers filling River Basin at Abokobi – Civil engineer claims

Civil engineer and road and building consultant, Abdulai Mahama, has disclosed that some recalcitrant developers and encroachers in prohibited areas of the Greater Accra Region are employing land guards to protect them as they illegally fill up river basins and wetlands for the development of estates, factories, warehouses, washing bays, and other structures.

He made this assertion during an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb on Thursday, May 29, 2025.

Ing. Mahama, who lamented the indiscriminate development of restricted areas such as Ramsar sites, wetlands, and river basins into estate properties, lauded the government’s ongoing demolitions in these zones.

While calling on the public to support the demolition exercise led by the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo, he noted that land guards are being used to thwart the efforts of Local Assemblies and their task forces.

“The Abokobi area and its immediate surroundings, which happen to be the upstream of the Odaw River, have one of their largest basins filled, and continue to be filled, as I speak, by defiant developers aided by land guards,” he said.

“The filling of this major basin upstream with laterite, originally meant to store large volumes of water, has drastically reduced its capacity. As a result, this volume of water now flows through Ashongman, Haatso, Atomic, Dome, Christian Village, Abofu, to Alajo, and eventually into the Odaw River.”

He further revealed that approximately 12 major water storage areas in Accra that are supposed to convey water to the Odaw River have been compromised at various points in the city.

“The channels leading to these storage areas have been occupied by structures. So, when it rains heavily, the water that should flow through its natural path ends up settling on the surface, causing flooding,” he explained.

Ing. Mahama commended the government’s effort to clear structures located in prohibited areas such as Ramsar sites, river basins, and natural water pathways, with the aim of restoring the land to its natural state.

Despite backlash from affected communities, Ing. Mahama maintained that these actions are necessary to drastically reduce the impact of flooding on residents of Accra and other parts of the country facing similar challenges.

He called for the full enforcement of the Building Regulations, 2022 (LI 2465), the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016 (Act 925), and the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) by District Assemblies to prevent encroachment on prohibited areas and to minimise flooding, distress, and financial losses associated with demolitions.

VPO/MA