Remove every obstacle on waterways immediately – Akufo-Addo to MCE

Adhere strictly to the development plans of your districts, Akufo-Addo to MCE

My govt's GH¢450m investment in drainage expansion has reduced the incidence of flooding – Akufo-Addo

Accra left in ruins after overnight rains caused severe flooding

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has charged Metropolitan, Municipal, and Districts Chief Executives (MMDCEs) across the country to remove all obstacles on waterways in their jurisdictions to ensure that the menace of flooding is reduced as the 2022 rainy season approaches.

The president said that MCEs ensuring that the development plans in their districts are followed to the letter is critical to ensuring the perennial flooding in some parts of the country during the rainy season, particularly in the nation’s capital town, Accra is curtailed, asaaseradio.com reports.

“Government will continue to work towards the day when Ghanaians, especially those in Accra, will live in calm and tranquillity through the rainy season. Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives have been charged to ensure that the obstructions to the free flow of water as well as developments along waterways are removed immediately.

“MMDAs are also to ensure the strict adherence of developers to the planning laws of our country and sanction staff who issue permits for structures to be built on waterways to serve as a deterrent to others who seek to engage in such acts,” Akufo-Addo added,” the president is quoted to have said at the commissioning of an IHC BEAVER 50 dredger and marine equipment at Adjei Kojo.

Also, Akufo-Addo has said that his government's investments since it came to power have reduced the incidence of flooding in Ghana's capital town, Accra.

He suggested that the GH¢ 450 million his government spent to curb the menace of flooding in the country through the Flood Control Programme has paid off.

"I did raise concerns at the beginning of my address about the flooding situation in Accra. Government, since 2017, has spent some 450million cedis on the Flood Control Programme, which has resulted in the reduced incidence of flooding in the major flood-prone areas in Accra," he said.

The president's remarks come after Various parts of the capital of Ghana were left in ruins after heavy rains poured from the evening of Monday, May 23, 2022, to about the early hours of Tuesday morning.

As usual, parts of the capital were flooded after just a few hours of rain on Monday evening. Videos of cars submerged in water, kiosks floating atop floodwaters and roads flooded took over social media platforms.

After over 7 hours of rain, one would be lucky to have woken up to a house without flooded rooms, a shop with its content still intact, an office without water in its compound, a market stall without ruined goods or a road not covered by floods if driving or in a vehicle.

All over, there were signs of destruction, from trees being uprooted to cars being crashed, tarred roads being destroyed, and wooden structures being carried away.

The floods have also led to heavy vehicular traffic in some parts of Accra.

Also, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) has disclosed that at least 20 people have been rescued from floods in Accra caused by the heavy rains, which started on Monday, May 23, to Tuesday, May 24.

According to NADMO, most of the victims rescued were from Dansoman, Odorkor and Dzowulu.

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