“To me, I think people who don’t think it’s a big deal to toss a plastic bottle in the garbage are not only being irresponsible, but also I think they’re being disrespectful of all the other humans on earth” – Sophia Bush.
Today’s piece was inspired by a story I read about six days ago titled, “AMA not ready to dredge Odaw River as rainy season draws close.” The AMA boss was reported to have said his outfit did not have the capacity to desilt the Odaw River, even though he admitted that the Odaw River would be choked if there was a heavy downpour in the capital.
I was very shocked to read the story and for days now I’ve struggled to make sense of the situation. I was even more shocked when I read the AMA boss’ confession that “the Odaw River is choked and will become a big challenge to the AMA in saving lives in case the heavy downpours begin.”
“So, what is the solution? Is the AMA going to continue playing the talking drum and wait for another disastrous flooding to happen?” I soliloquized.
Abusuapanin, it is no secret that the country has a history of perennial downpours. The rains will soon be here and some regions are definitely going to suffer the devastating effects of floods because the country has once again failed to prevent any unfortunate incidents in the rainy season.
The sad incidents of June 3, 2015, which claimed more than 150 lives and brought untold hardship to a great number of people across the country after hours of heavy rains, are still fresh on our minds. With the Ghana Meteorological Services Agency predicting torrential rains this year against the backdrop of our choked drainage system, only a miracle from the Bearded Old Man above would save us from floods and their disastrous consequences.
As mentioned earlier, the AMA and other authorities charged with the responsibility of desilting our drainage system have been very appalling, to say the least. They fold their arms for the disaster to happen only to come shedding crocodile tears.
For sure, the authorities are not solely to blame. As a people, our attitude towards the environment is very worrying. We litter the environment and our drainage system only to turnaround to blame the authorities for not clearing the garbage we deliberately created.
In this 21st Century, many of our folks still see nothing wrong with using gutters as garbage dumps. We drop anything and everything into gutters, thereby choking them. Since water cannot be stopped along its track, it demolishes structures as it forces its way through all impediments. And our only cry is ‘TRAGEDY’.
As I write, there are numerous structures on waterways and practically nothing is being done about it. The authorities are afraid to take practical steps to curb the menace for fear of being punished politically by the masses. So the carelessness and irresponsibility are allowed to continue unabated.
Frankly, there are times that I wonder if this country is worth fighting or dying for. With the level of indiscipline and recklessness, one is tempted to think if those vices are virtues.
So I ask: for how long shall our authorities shirk their responsibility of righting the wrongs of the society for fear of losing elections? For how long shall we allow indiscipline, irresponsibility, recklessness and carelessness to continue in this country? For how long shall we allow our kith and kin to suffer avoidable flooding?
We’ve paid dearly in the past for our indiscipline, irresponsibility, recklessness and carelessness through numerous disasters. We cry for a while and soon return to our bad ways. One thing is certain if we continue in our bad ways. More tears will flow after more rains. After all, the fly that fails to heed good counsel follows the corpse into the grave.
See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!