We should not only dredge the Odaw when it’s about to rain – MP

Member of Parliament for Mpraeso Constituency in Ghana’s Eastern Region, Davis Ansah Opoku, believes that dredging the Odaw should be a year-round activity rather than an occasional one.

According to the MP, we should dredge the Odaw all year round to reduce the impact of flooding, rather than just during the rainy season.

The MP expressed his delight that the Minister of Works and Housing has proposed allocating some of the Road Fund and Sanitation Levy to the Ghana Hydrological Authority.

He stated that the Authority’s establishment was excellent, but if we have established an Authority that lacks the necessary funds to operate, it is not the best.

He stated that it becomes problematic if we do not have well-established sources of funding for the authority to operate efficiently.

The MP was speaking during a presentation by Minister Asensso-Boakye on what the government was doing to address the country’s perennial flooding.

The law that established the authority, he noted, has portions that mandate the authority to seek funding, but ”that for me is not sustainable. We need a more sustainable plan. If one percent of, let’s say, the Common Fund is channelled into solving issues of flooding in this country, we need to do that”, he added.

He also suggested that drains be installed to help with the country’s flooding problem.

He emphasised the importance of the House considering direct funding sources for the Authority in order to solve the flooding problem once and for all.

He stated that the solution was not to sympathise with flood victims every year, but rather to invest the necessary resources to address the root cause.