Engineer Abeiku Hayford—a Professional Engineer, Risk Management Consultant, and member of the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE)—has asserted that Accra’s perennial flooding is entirely avoidable.
According to him, the persistent crisis boils down to poor planning, for which successive governments and citizens must share the blame.
He stressed that a collective shift in attitude is vital to resolving the issue.
Engineer Hayford noted on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM that the problem extends beyond the government’s lack of commitment or citizens dumping waste into drains; it is a combination of both.
He pointed out to host Kwabena Agyapong that despite the Odaw drain being dredged multiple times, the floods still return.
He expressed hope that the current situation, alongside interventions proposed by President John Mahama, will ignite a renewed commitment to tackling the crisis.
However, he warned that the perennial flooding has evolved from a simple structural issue into a complex national crisis.
To permanently resolve the crisis, Engineer Hayford called for strict law enforcement and infrastructure investment. He argued that officials who fail to do their jobs, individuals who build on waterways, and those who dump waste indiscriminately must face prosecution.
He stated:”It has gotten to the time where these people who build in waterways, and officials who accepted bribes and looked on for these things to occur, be arrested and prosecuted.
Those who dump in our drains must be penalised. Initially, flooding was not a complex issue, but it has become one. It is a major issue which requires immediate solutions. We also failed to plan properly. All hope is not lost. Urbanisation in Accra has shot up at a very abnormal rate, and yet planning remains a challenge. This has become a complex situation and it must stop.”
He urged state officials, particularly those responsible for urban planning and law enforcement, to step up and prevent future disasters.
“We have laws in this country, but the struggle is that enforcement is a challenge. If we enforce our laws, we will have these issues addressed.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana