A building and road consultant says Ghana has fallen into a dangerous cycle of treating flooding as a seasonal inconvenience rather than a structural crisis, and warns that without decisive government action, nothing will change.
Speaking on Citi News Digest amid renewed flooding concerns in parts of the country, especially Accra, Ing. Abdulai Mahama said the pattern is predictable and frustrating.
“In the next three months we’ll enter a dry season and it is business as usual. Next year we’ll come back and talk about it again,” he said.
Ing. Mahama argued that the root cause is simple and well-known, illegal structures and developments on waterways and wetlands are choking natural drainage systems, but authorities have lacked the political will to act on it.
“Every building, any structure that is on any watercourse must be pulled down. No apology to anybody,” he said, adding that demolitions must be carried out regardless of who owns the structures. “There shouldn’t be any sentimental emotions to any structure which is sitting in the waterway.”
He questioned why local assemblies continue to approve developments in flood-prone areas despite the obvious risks, and urged the government to act on longstanding recommendations from engineers and technocrats rather than waiting for the next disaster.
“The government has to crack the whip. That’s it,” he said.
Ing. Mahama did commend the Greater Accra Regional Ministers who have led demolition exercises in affected areas, describing the interventions as steps in the right direction — but insisted that isolated efforts are no substitute for consistent, long-term enforcement.
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