The Minority in Parliament has called for a full parliamentary inquiry into the activities of the government’s Flood Preparedness Taskforce following the devastating floods that hit parts of the country on Monday, leaving several people dead, others missing and thousands displaced.
Addressing a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin said the proposed investigation should examine the taskforce’s level of preparedness, the interventions it undertook before the rains, the funds allocated to it and how those resources were utilised.
The call comes after the Ministry for the Interior disclosed that at least nine people lost their lives, seven remain missing and more than 38,000 people have been displaced by the floods.
While acknowledging that the intensity of the rainfall may have been influenced by climate change, Mr. Afenyo-Markin questioned the effectiveness of the Flood Preparedness Taskforce established by President John Dramani Mahama.
According to him, the scale of the disaster raises concerns about whether adequate preventive measures were implemented before the onset of the rainy season.
“Yesterday’s flooding is the clearest evidence that this task force produced no meaningful intervention on the ground. If serious drainage works, desilting or flood mitigation infrastructure had been undertaken, the impact of the rains, however heavy, would have been measurably reduced,” he said.
The Minority Leader said Parliament must establish a special committee to investigate the conduct of the taskforce as well as the relevant ministries and agencies responsible for flood prevention.
“That enquiry must establish what work, if any, the task force undertook since its establishment, what funds were allocated to it and how they were spent, what specific mitigation measures were planned and implemented, and why none of this prevented or meaningfully reduced the impact of foreseeable seasonal flooding,” he stated.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin stressed that the proposed investigation is intended to ensure accountability rather than assign blame.
“This is not a presumption of guilt. It is a basic standard of accountability that any institution facing serious questions over its conduct should observe so that the investigation can proceed without interference and so that those under scrutiny are not left to oversee the very response to a crisis their own inaction may have worsened,” he added.
The Minority also urged the government to ensure that the GH¢300 million released for flood relief is not limited to affected communities in Accra.
According to the caucus, flood victims in other hard-hit regions, including the Central, Western, Volta and Ashanti regions, should equally benefit from the relief package.
The Minority assured victims of its support and pledged to use all available parliamentary mechanisms to ensure that any public officials found to have neglected their responsibilities are held accountable.
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