Don’t hold central government accountable for Accra floods – Engineer Mahama

Ghanaian Civil Engineer, Abdulai Mahama, has blamed the Local Assemblies for floods suffered in the capital.

According to him, the flooding situation in Accra can only be overcome if the Physical Planning Departments of Local Assemblies take charge of the situation and also introduce some strict by-laws.

“I am not surprised about the level of water on the land surface with recent rains, resulting in flooding in parts of the capital. We are not going to witness any drastic change positively in the field by just making comments here and there and doing little to salvage the situation. The central gov’t shouldn’t be held totally accountable for the level of floods witnessed in our neighbourhoods.

"A lot more has to be done by the Local Assemblies and it is better we channel our energies towards them as that is how we will make some progress in trying to reduce the water levels in Accra and all other capitals,” he stated.

Sharing insights into what the Local Assemblies can do to prevent flooding, he advised them to introduce by-laws that ensure companies and compounds make use of greens.

Discussing the incidence of flooding in the capital with Samuel Eshun on e.tv Ghana’s Fact Sheet Show, Ing Mahama posited, “When somebody comes to seek for a construction permit, it is only proper the Assemblies in the capital would’ve introduced a component which is factories taking off their hard surfaces and making use of greens. As of now, a lot of companies and compounds who receive permits from the Assemblies are lining their compounds with concrete.”

Explaining the concept of velocity in relation to flooding, he indicated that the wider the area of the velocity of water, the deeper the level of infiltration. Hence, an area with a more permeable surface not covered with tiles or concrete will see to a high infiltration of water into the soil preventing flooding.

Ing. Mahama posited that if this is not done, compounds in the capital will be levelled with concrete, reducing the infiltration of water into the soil by half, causing more damage in Accra.

The annual ritual of the capital city flooding has become a source of frustration to many Ghanaians. The government has taken steps to address this issue by dredging rivers and gutters prior to rainy seasons but this seems to make no difference.

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