About 785 buildings identified to be cited on waterways have been earmarked for demolition in the La Dade-Kotopon Municipal Assembly as part of efforts by the government to address the menace of flooding in Accra.

The demolition exercise, which is to be undertaken by the Assembly, is in response to the directives by the president to all assemblies to ensure that buildings that impede the free flow of storm water in drainage channels are cleared.

Addressing the press on issues of flooding ahead of the rainy season, the Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, disclosed that the Assembly is currently working on the necessary logistics to undertake the assignment.

The sector minister observed that while the government is determined at building resilient communities that can withstand and reduce the incidence of flooding, especially in Accra, certain human activities have hugely contributed at thwarting the investments in the provision of drainage infrastructure.

The minister observed that activities of developers in areas such as Tseaddo, Kpeshie Reserves, Railway Reserve Line at Roman Ridge, Villagio site, Amanfro, as well as Teshi Bush Road, in the Ledzokuku Municipal Asssembly, have led to the destruction of buffers meant to hold storm water.

Other human activities, Asenso-Boakye revealed, have reduced the capacity of some rivers, resulting in backflow, which, in the process, floods communities upstream, noting that these illegal activities are widespread in many parts of the country.

With every attempt to stop the illegal reclamation of lands fiercely resisted by armed land guards, Francis Asenso-Boakye disclosed that the ministry has engaged the support of the Ministry of National Security, for the assemblies to enforce planning laws and building regulations as a way of halting the haphazard development on wetlands and other water bodies across the country.

“I asked the Assembly to ensure the work stops and further action taken against the developers,” the minister said.