Recently, substantial rains caused major flooding in the city of Accra and others. Whole streets and homes were submerged as a consequence, and there were reports of loss of lives.
It seems that flooding is a perennial problem that local administrations and central government have not been able to find solutions to.
As a consequence, it is a common phenomenon to see flooding in some towns and cities whenever the rainy season begins.
The causes of the flooding are not far to seek. The first is that Ghana is plagued with poor planning and total disregard for the environment. Much of the city of Accra is built on marshy land and water ways, where people should not have built in the first place.
The second problem is the inability of local authorities to keep drains, gutters and gullies clean and dredged during the dry season. Most of these facilities are highly clogged year round, which means that they are unable to serve their purpose, which is to carry away excess water, particularly during torrential rains.
The third reason is the total disrespect and disregard for the laws of sanitation by the populace. A significant number of people dump waste in the environment without thought of the effect. This has led to the situation where Ghanaians find it natural to live with filth, overgrowth of weeds and chocked gutters and gullies.
The solutions to the problems, of course, are widely known. First, we need to address the issue of planning at the local level by ensuring that the laws, rules and regulations guiding the construction are obeyed. People should be stopped and discouraged from building on waterways and marshland.
Secondly, we need to find a means to keep the existing gutters, gullies and drains clean. This needs to be done during the dry season, and not after the rains have started.
Thirdly, and most important, we need to educate the public to avoid risky behaviours that come back to harm all, such as indiscriminate dumping of waste into the environment.
We believe that these solutions, if adhered to, would go a long way to averting the perennial flooding we experience every year.
(Editorial of the Daily Searchlight 26th May, 2025)
