MMDAs To Enforce By-Laws To Curb Accra Flooding

Adentan MCE Daniel Nii Noi-Adumuah  explaining a point to Mr. Korsah at the Prisons Junction, Fafraha.

 

Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Accra have been directed to enforce sanitation by-laws and building codes including the demolition of structures in water ways to curb the perennial flooding the city experiences.

This follows observation that a major contributor of flooding in parts of Accra is human activities including the dumping of rubbish in drainage systems, building in water ways and encroachment of buffer zones.

Giving the directive, Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Daniel Botwe, said it is important that sanitation by-laws are enforced in addition to sensitization and the desilting activities being undertaken by the MMDAs.

“I urge the various Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies in Accra to intensify their enforcement activities by strictly applying the sanitation and the building regulations in sanctioning violators without fear or favour. For the flood mitigation to succeed, Assemblies must work,” he directed.

He made the call during an inspection tour of ongoing desilting works being carried out by the seventeen (17) MMAs under the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project.

All 17 MMDAs visited gave an account of how they have spent the GH¢420,000 grant and led the Minister to the sites to see the progress of work done.

Mr. Botwe singled out the Okaikoi North Municipal Assembly’s effective utilisation of funds allocated to combat floods for commendation.

“I was impressed with what we saw today at Okaikoi North where in addition to the funding they received from GARID, the assembly itself in their annual action plan had budgeted for a programme to address the flooding challenge they have in the municipality. They also have a budget from the common fund, and they have also allocated money from their internally generated funds,” Mr Botwe said.

Deputy Minister, Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah, joined the tour on the third day, visiting the Ayawaso Central, Ayawaso North, Ayawaso East and Ayawaso West, La Nkwantanang, Ga East, Adentan, La Dadekotopon, Ga West, Ga Central and Ga North Municipal Assemblies.

He expressed satisfaction about the progress of work and urged the Assemblies to ensure that all priority secondary and tertiary drains are regular maintained to curb incidences of flooding.

Speaking at the end of the five-day tour, Mr. Korsah said a comprehensive report will be compiled to identify Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) who have not fulfilled their duties despite receiving GH¢420,000 for flood prevention.

GARID Project Coordinator, Dr. Kwadwo Ohene Sarfoh, reaffirmed the Project’s commitment to working with the Municipal Assemblies in finding a lasting solution to solid waste management and flooding challenges in Accra.

Dr. Sarfoh appealed to the MMDAs to enforce the sanitation bye-laws to ensure that the gains being made by the Project is not undermined by adverse beaviour of few individuals in the society.

“The state cannot be spending so much on flood control measures, only to be undermined by bad behavior. The Assembly must enforce building and sanitation bye laws and make them bite to serve as deterrent to others,” said Dr. Sarfoh.

The GARID Project aims at improving drainage, solid waste management, and provision of infrastructure in priority flood-prone informal settlements within the Odaw River basin.

The Operation and Maintenance Grant Scheme is part of the interventions the Project is implementing to help improve the discharge capacity of priority secondary and tertiary drains in communities along the Odaw River channel.

 

Desilting works ongoing at Ofankor

 

By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri