This year’s raining season has exposed the infrastructural deficit in Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city.
It has also brought to the fore the consequences of irresponsible construction in a fast growing city of the magnitude of Kumasi.
Flooding used to be a feature of Accra in the past and hardly that of Kumasi.
The Garden City’s flooding challenges were nowhere near Accra’s but today, it would appear that the city can no longer contain consistent downpour for twelve hours without worrying consequences such as was recorded last Wednesday.
The baby who was washed away by the floodwaters is feared dead. In another suburb, Buohun, a girl is said to have been washed away by floodwaters.
For how long shall we allow irresponsible constructions to visit deadly and destructive consequences upon us?
We sympathise with the family of the little girl who fell victim to the downpour and others who lost their property.
With the consequences of irresponsible constructions visible for residents to see, this is the time the city authorities must proceed to take action where necessary.
The Municipal Chief Executive Officer of the Asokore Mampong Municipality is reported to have said that, streams within his area of jurisdiction will be dredged to avoid a recurrence of last Wednesday’s incident.
We are not excited with this piece of news because we think this should have been done before the onset of the raining season.
Bridges, some of them very old, and too weak to allow the volume of water passing through them, should be replaced.
The response to the dangerous state of infrastructure in the Garden City goes beyond dredging during the raining season.
The interferences in the work of public officers especially, those tasked with ensuring that bylaws are enforced, have had telling effects on the lives of people as in the case of Kumasi.
The authorities should be allowed to do their work in both ensuring that structures are not constructed on highways and the relevant bylaws pertaining to building are adhered to.
The relevant city authorities whose non-performance leads to the consequences which have prompted this commentary should be sanctioned.
Cracking the whip is not a pleasant action to take, but when this inures to the public good, so be it.
The raining season is a period on our climate calendar when fresh crops come to the markets and farmers getting busy on their farms. It is also a period when the weather brings that feeling of goodness.
In Kumasi however, when the skies are overcast and signs of downpour become evident, people, especially residents of areas prone to floods, become apprehensive and jittery. The deluges could be harbinger of destruction of property and even death.
Something should be done and pronto, to obviate future recurrences of destructive and killer floods in our only Garden City.