Over the past four years, the Kwabre East Municipal Assembly in the Ashanti Region has demolished at least 20 structures built illegally on waterways.

These buildings were not only unauthorized but also blocked the natural flow of water, increasing the risk of flooding during heavy rains.

The demolitions form part of efforts to prevent future disasters and promote safer, more resilient communities.

According to engineers and physical planning officials, some residents begin construction without considering the dangers of building in high-risk areas or seeking professional advice. This lack of planning has exposed several communities to flooding, erosion, and other environmental hazards.

Despite the well-known risks floods pose to lives and property, some developers in the municipality continue to build on waterways, further worsening an already hazardous situation.

Municipal Development Control Engineer, Abubakar Alhassan, said the consequences of such developments can no longer be ignored. He noted that the Assembly has intensified efforts to address the issue by targeting structures built on waterways.

“For the past four years, we’ve demolished not less than 20 buildings constructed on waterways,” he said.

He mentioned Bosore, Turba, Asenua, and Medoma as some of the communities where demolitions have taken place, serving as a warning to others against building in such locations.

Engr. Alhassan further stressed that action is taken immediately once a structure is identified on a waterway.

“The moment we see somebody developing on a waterway, we demolish it instantly. We enforce the demolition on both waterways and roads to ensure people don’t build on such sites,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the Municipal Director of Physical Planning, Jonas Kwame Bonah, explained that although the Assembly has a solid development plan in place, enforcement continues to face major setbacks—especially interference from political figures and some traditional leaders, which hampers the work of planning officers and engineers.

“By the time you realize, the chiefs are there selling those portions to developers to build. We try our best to ensure that such developments are halted,” he said.

Engr. Alhassan echoed the same concern, adding, “The challenges we are currently facing are the interference of politicians and chiefs. When you stop someone from developing, the person will stop for the day, but before you know it, the structure is back up.”

Both officials say they remain committed to ensuring that flood-prone areas are protected and that illegal structures are swiftly dealt with to save lives and reduce disaster risks.

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The call comes at the back of an order from President Akufo-Addo to the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to remove structures obstructing the free flow of water immediately.

The directive was after parts of Accra were submerged for the second time within a week, after heavy rains on Saturday and midnight on Tuesday.

Responding to the President’s directive, the President of IET-GH, Henry Kwadwo Boateng said the flooding situation in the country particularly Accra is multifaceted, adding managers of MMDAs must allow the technical people to do their work to help to curb the perennial flooding.

He urged the President to walk the talk to ensure his directive is carried out by the relevant agencies.

Ing Boateng who is a former employee in one of the assemblies blamed the Chief Executives for interfering in the work of engineers whose responsibility is to ensure no building is on waterways.

He, therefore, appealed to the Chief Executives to support and encourage engineers to push through with their legal mandates.

Again, President of IET-GH blamed what it calls ‘big man and influential people’ who buy wetlands for the floods.

He advised that, the Land Use and Spatial Planning Department at the various assemblies to stop remarking lands not meant for residential areas.

Ing Boateng added that, the Hydrological Department under the Ministry of Works and Housing must be given the necessary support to carry out its mandate to address the perennial floods.

The six who are mainly artisans were apprehended by personnel from the Weija-Gbawe District Police Command on Wednesday, 18th May 2022.

This was during an unannounced working visit by a Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker.

The six, all men with ages ranging from 25 to 30 years, were arrested for the construction of illegal structures.

The arrest is one of many decisive steps being taken by the Ministry to tackle the issues of encroachment, illegal structure development and sand winning in the earthquake-prone area.

At a media briefing after the tour, Mr Duker stated that the suspects would be handed over to the appropriate authorities for investigation and possible prosecution.

He instructed the Weija-Gbawe Municipal Assembly to work closely with the police to arrest the owners of the various illegal projects in the enclave.

He warned that, the Ministry will clamp down on all illegal activities at the site including sand-winning and the development of unauthorised structures.

The Deputy Minister further issued a directive for the Assembly to as a matter of urgency demolish all illegal structures in the Ga South Municipality which have been established as earthquake-prone areas.

He wondered why people will choose to erect structures and conduct activities at the place despite several warnings by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and its allied agencies.

He said the Ministry will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that lives and properties are protected.

It will be recalled that NADMO in 2017 described parts of the place as ‘imminent risks’ and therefore called for the demolition of illegal structures at the Weija Hills and indicated that the move will help avoid future mudslides as happened in Sierra Leone in which least 499 people were killed.