An Environmental Health and Safety Specialist, Nana Opoku Amankwah, has attributed the persistent flooding across major cities in Ghana to human activities.
He believes that improper planning, including a lack of efficient drainage systems and the construction of buildings on waterways and wetlands are exacerbating the flooding situation in several areas including Kumasi’s city center.
Flooding has become a significant challenge for the Kumasi Metropolis, with major areas such as Kejetia, Racecourse, and the Adum enclave consistently experiencing flooding almost every year.
Over the years, goods worth millions of cedis have been lost to floodwaters within the Kumasi Central Business District.
As the rainy season approaches, business operators are concerned that the situation could severely impact their livelihoods.
Boatemaa, a trader, lamented, “Whenever it rains, this area floods. The water carries away objects, and people also dump waste into it, causing severe blockages. We are suffering here.”
“We are greatly disturbed by the flooding. We have no safe place to store our things during downpours, and the water often destroys our goods. I am even in debt because of this issue,” she added.
Several committees have been commissioned in the past to investigate the root causes of the issue and provide possible solutions, however, these efforts have not yielded meaningful outcomes.
Speaking with Mr. Amankwah, he noted that city authorities must take bold action to demolish structures built on waterways to significantly reduce the persistent flooding issue within the Central Business District.
“We need to take bold decisions. If we have structures that obstruct the flow of drainage water, we need to pull them down unless we’re happy with what’s happening,” he stated.
Mr. Amankwah also expressed concern over the construction of large buildings in the city center without adequate provisions for drainage and flood management.
“We allow development to go on but we do not put pressure on the developers to look at how they’re going to curtail the floods. If you put up a three- or four-story building within the CBD, what is the requirement for you to create an exit point for rainwater around that area? And how is your drainage system being given the permit to be built? He quarried.
He also urged the city authorities to take temporary measures by desilting the various drains to remove waste materials, sand, and other debris ahead of the peak rainy season in order to mitigate the impact of flooding.
