The Ghana Institute of Planners has urged the government to provide a comprehensive plan on how to deal with perennial flooding more permanently.
The comments come after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo instructed Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies in the Greater Accra Region to demolish all structures in waterways in a bid to end flooding.
In an interview with Citi News, the President of the Institute, Mohammed Alhassan Damba, said the modalities of the directive ought to be made public.
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“Clearing buildings on waterways will significantly reduce the incidence of floods. What we are unsure of, however, is the modalities for this. There are standards for reservations on waterways that are contained in our plan. They can go with that and clear the structures.”
“We also have flood cycles that come about every 5 to 20 years. We have to be clear about what module we are going with. If we are going with a higher flood return period of say 10 years flood cycle, we may find ourselves demolishing too many structures.”
The onset of the rainy season has seen many parts of Accra inundated, with several homes counting their losses after floodwaters destroyed a number of properties.
Heavy rains, which started late Monday evening through Tuesday morning, submerged parts of the capital city.
This came after most parts of Accra got flooded after close to a 10-hour downpour last Saturday.
Residents in hard-hit areas had to abandon their homes to seek shelter elsewhere because the floodwaters entered their rooms.
