Flooding: Kojo Oppong Nkrumah inspects ongoing projects; urges public to obey sanitation by-laws

As part of interventions to help deal with perennial flooding in the country's capital, the Minister for Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has embarked on a working visit to ongoing drainage projects currently being undertaken by the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project as well the Ghana Hydrological Authority.

The visit on Saturday was to equip the newly appointed minister with information on the ongoing projects and also help address concerns that may come up as part of engagement with contractors and site engineers.

Hon Oppong Nkrumah emphasized the need to deepen public education against throwing refuse into drains as it remains one of the major causes of flooding.

Even though there are by-laws against such acts, the minister thinks deepening public sensitization is the best way to go but also shared the view that the laws must take on offenders who fail to end such attitudes after several cautions.

"We are constructing storm drains and catchment traps to deal with the issue of flooding but one thing that we are much concerned about going forward is about desilting them periodically to prevent them being choked. So the various MMDAs where the projects are taking place should ensure that the issue with desilting is enshrined in the contract as the projects would all be handed to them to manage after completion," the Ofoase-Ayirebi MP stated.

Hon. Oppong Nkrumah, however, called on the general public to desist from actions that affect the environment and rather be ambassadors for change.