The Tema Oil Refinery, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and Ghana Shippers Authority have refused to help in the dredging of drains in Tema as the rains set in.

Other major industries also ignored the request as they did not even bother to reply.

The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) had pleaded for help in dredging major drains in the Metropolis to minimize flooding and deaths.

The Tema office of NADMO wrote for support to 20 companies in the industrial and harbour city for support in cash or in kind to help prevent or reduce the incidence of flooding in the Metropolis during the rainy season.

Part of the letter read in part, “The request has become very necessary and timely as most of the drains within the Metropolis are heavily silted and cause flooding anytime it rains, putting lives and properties meantime in danger and at risk. Your generous contribution will go a very long way to save lives and properties”.

Mr Ebenezer Cudjoe, Tema Metropolitan NADMO Director told the Ghana News Agency that whereas only four out of the companies replied, three out of the four stated they could not support the Organization.

Mr Cudjoe said it was only Jon Moore International which responded in the positive with a promise to provide low bed truck to convey the dredger to and fro the dredging areas.

He regretted that the companies had refused to help in keeping the area safe for residents and workers adding that NADMO with support from the Tema Metropolitan Assembly had dredged some of the drains accounting for the incident-free rains so far.

He added that the Assembly which is cash strapped due to the ceding off of Tema West Municipality where it generated most of its revenue from building permits, was not in the financial position to fully fund any major dredging.

He mentioned that the major storm drains in the Metropolis that needed urgent dredging included VALCO to Chemu lagoon, TOR-GTMC-Timber market, Rana motors and SOS down from Community Six to Community 12.

Mr Cudjoe appealed to industries in Tema to support the Organization with cash or kind, adding that flooding in the Metropolis does not discriminate and anyone caught in it can not be set free by waving his or her work identity card.

He added that some workers lived in flood-prone areas and that such workers would be absent from work when they become flood victims which would have a rippling effect on the productivity of the companies.

The Metro NADMO Director said his outfit was doing its best to sensitize residents and commended the media for giving them free space and airtime to reach more people.

He, however, noted that sensitization had yielded good results, therefore, the need to put in preventive measures such as the dredging to help save lives and properties.