The nation’s capital was once more saddled with a disruptive and somewhat unexpected four-hour downpour which saw residents and motorists inconvenienced in varied ways.
The accompanying traffic congestion was disturbing as it left commuters standing by roadside in search of the available transport opportunities.
The disruption once more reminded us about our vulture attitude to such weather patterns. The vulture decides to build a nest only when the rains are falling. Like the scavenger bird, we too as Ghanaians take decisions about the fallouts from deluges only to assign them to the shelves when the rains subside.
Accra has witnessed many disruptive downpours, some of them fatal.
Perhaps the most disruptive and perilous was the June 3, 2015 Circle disaster which left in its trail deaths and destructions; the most destructive in living memories.
Last Tuesday’s deluge was unexpected to many who do not understand the intricacies of climate change, because for such persons the peak of the raining season is over as we approach the middle of October. Although the season can be described as minor raining season, it does not usually come with such intensity as witnessed a few days ago. Last Tuesday’s deluge was climate change induced given the intensity.
The reality of climate change for us in Ghana remains an academic issue, discourse about which remains within the confines of academics. For policy makers in government circles, the opportunity the subject brings is travelling abroad to partake in international conferences on climate change. As for the implementation of decisions arrived at such meetings, next to nothing is done about them.
Even the fundamental response to destructive downpours such as addressing the challenges posed by poor or no proper drainage systems in the nation’s capital, including unacceptable construction along waterways, they remain Utopian.
The political will to enforce construction bylaws is lacking, a situation which has bedeviled successive governments.
Following the destruction of June 3, 2015 occasioned by the floods in the Circle area of Accra, recommendations were made to obviate future recurrences. The beautifully bound publication is resting on the shelves of the relevant ministry.
We recall the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID), news about which elated many an Accra resident because it was touted as a solution to the perennial flooding in Accra.
Following a cabinet approval for a US $200 million credit facility for the project, signs of commencement of work were visible, especially after the then Minister of Information, Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said that the project would commence immediately the facility received parliamentary approval.
The project, which should have been spearheaded by four relevant ministries, is stillborn even as the threats of flooding and its attendant dangers remain real.
Residents continue to show uncaring attitude towards the environment, especially the consequences of construction along waterways and dumping refuse into already choked gutters.