We are ready for the rainy season - Accra Mayor

Mayor of Accra, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, has downplayed any possibility of Accra experiencing floods during the imminent rainy season.

He has affirmed that his outfit is fully prepared to face the heavy downpour, owing to the fact that choked gutters have been desilted.

He supported his claims with the recent downpour which, according to him, did not result in any flooding incident in Accra.

“We have prepared in far advance for the rains. We have invested heavily in desilting the drains. We have invested heavily in dredging the storm drains. And that’s why it could rain for four and half hours to five hours in Accra and you will not see Accra being flooded”, the Accra Mayor stated.

He, however, did not play down the possibility of Accra being flooded, taking into consideration the rampant dumping of refuse in drains by Ghanaians.

“The truth of the matter is that you cannot guarantee tomorrow because once you continue to desilt and dredge it [the drain], then tomorrow somebody comes to dump more refuse inside. So I cannot guarantee tomorrow. It is your attitude that will guarantee tomorrow that there will not be flood in Accra”, Mr. Sowah argued.

The Mayor of Accra, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, assured Ghanaians that his outfit is working tirelessly to ensure that government’s vision of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa becomes a reality.

“We are working hard towards it and we will ensure that we rid the city of the filth in Accra and we have the nice city that we all brag of”, he said.

The Ghana Meteorological Agency recently warned the authorities in major cities to clear the drains as the country is set to experience heavy rains. Director of Research and Applied Meteorology at the Agency, Samuel Yorke suggested that major drains should be desilted while outflow of some water bodies should be widened for easy flow of flood waters during a heavy downpour.