Tema Community Two reels under rain and sewage flood

Poor enforcement of planning laws and self-destructive activities of residents have rendered Tema Community Two flood-prone and unhygienic.

Residents have littered their community with illegal structures and house extensions which sit on drains and sewage pipes.

Some residents now have to use public toilets because when they flush their household lavatories, the faeces end up in other people's rooms.

McCarthy, BBC and Aggage inn are some of the typical areas which had been battered by flash floods and sewage burst lately.

They are usually inundated with sewage overflow and rainwater because the liquids had nowhere to empty expect in the rooms of residents.

When the Ghana News Agency visited the area, residents were up in arms against city authorities and the local assemblyman.

Residents accused each other of building extensions without drainage plans hence the flooding problems but asked city authorities to intervene as a soon as possible to save lives and property.

“The assemblyman has on countless occasion been notified about this area getting flooded each time it rains.

This has been our plight for the past years. Life at Tema is a thing that can not be boasted about, daily livelihood here is not easy, a resident, " a resident told the Ghana News Agency.

“My late father, before building, made it a habit to scrutinize the building plan to see if it had a planning application which contains drainage plans. For this flooding to be put to a halt, all houses on waterways must to be demolished. There should not be any bias during the demolition exercise because the owners of the house are aware and should face the consequences themselves,” Madam Grace Adom, a trader, stated.

Mr Peter Ennin, a lotto receiver, said, “I have lived here since 1990. Those days, we had no problem when it rained. The flooding started about three years ago."

He accused the media of not holding city authorities accountable for their plight.

" Last year, during the rainy season, the situation worsened and caught the eyes of media houses. They came around to cover it. Some did video recording but no positive results came out of their coverage," he said.

Mr Manu said, "In my opinion, I think it is human error. We are paying for our poor interaction with the environment."

Agya Oduro, a welder, said: “When it rains, the flash flood enters our rooms which makes me a flood victim. Most of my belongings and documents which include voters ID card, birth certificate, house papers, insurance card and that of my children’s have been washed away.

Residents had however attempted to solve the problem their own way.

"We, the residents made contributions to construct drains around. By God’s grace when it rains, it passes through the drains which is better than previously, ” according to Agya Oduro.