The Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye as part of his working tour, has visited various drainage sites in Accra to assess drainage works being undertaken by the Ministry.
The sites included the Odaw- Onyasia confluence at Caprice, Kwame Nkrumah circle project, Upper and Lower Korle lagoons. Messrs Dredge Masters is currently undertaking the dredging of the Odaw drain from Caprice to the outfall including the Lower and Upper Lagoons.
Other sites toured by the Minister included the Santa Maria Drainage Project site and Apenkwa Drainage Project site among others.
Following the surge in flood cases, especially in the capital, the government has in the past four (4) years committed a significant amount of resources into dredging works and drainage provision which has led to massive reduction in flooding.
While assuring the public that government will continue to implement programmes to mitigate the effects of flooding in the country, Mr. Asenso-Boakye also entreated Ghanaians to adhere to proper solid waste disposal practices, which is one of the main causes of flooding in the country.
“I am impressed with the work done so far by Dredge Masters and the other contractors. It is my expectation that we, as citizens will give them the needed support by engaging in proper sanitation practices to end the perennial flooding especially Accra”, he said.
The Minister also charged various Assemblies to strictly enforce planning laws and building regulations and see to it that structures are not built on water ways.
He assured of the Ministry’s continued collaboration with the Ministries of Sanitation and Water Resources and the Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development to deepen education on solid waste management. He also urged the media to also use its platform to educate and sensitize the people not to throw solid waste into our drainage channels, but rather adopt proper solid waste disposal measures to support the efforts of government.