General News of Saturday, 17 October 2020

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Accra’s floods are a problem of planning - Mahama

John Dramani Mahama, former president of Ghana John Dramani Mahama, former president of Ghana

Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress(NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has blamed Accra’s perennial flooding on poor planning.

This situation, he believes, can be addressed if the capital Accra is re-engineered to make way for proper city planning.

Speaking on Woezor TV on Saturday, October 17, 2020, John Mahama raised concerns on the need for a committed effort to fix Accra’s floods.

“Accra’s problem is engineering. We have local governments who are doing little. Never buy land in Accra in the dry season.”

He also faulted traditional leaders for selling lands along waterways to the public.

“Lands have been given out by traditional leaders even when it is along waterways.

John Mahama further said “it will take some huge money to fix it. We are trying to see if we can use some of the big push money to fix it”.

In 2015 a horrific flood and fire disaster that struck the city. During the downpour and flooding, an explosion at a petrol station leaving as many as 150 people dead.

Many of the victims had sought shelter at the station due to torrential rain. Greater Accra continues to witness flooding after every heavy downpour.