The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has bemoaned the perennial flooding in Accra and called on MPs to rally together to address the issue.
According to him, the annual flooding situation in the capital is “unacceptable”.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, he disclosed that Parliament has taken note of the issue, and is determined to deal decisively with the matter
On that note, he proposed a dialogue between the House and the respective sector ministers to generate viable solutions to resolve the annual crisis.
“This day is a rainy day. We those who are representatives of the residents of Accra, are as you know completely worried about the rain and its effect on the lives of people. Actually a number of MPs are around their constituencies trying to do what they could to help their constituents.
“So my attention has been drawn to it and we’ve been trying to see what we can do. The House would need to have a meeting whether at the Committee or [as a] whole with the sector ministers in charge of the situation.
“The drainage situation, the housing sector, works, we have to move to welfare; you know, our behaviour as people, so that we see what kind of intervention as a House we could put in place to support this. It’s very very important”, Bagbin said.
The Speaker added that: “We can’t continue to have this year in and year on [flooding situation]. It’s not acceptable. And leadership must try and get in touch with the sector ministers, let’s have a conversation on this issue. If not, you are the people that your constituents will continue to blame. Because you’re the people that they elected to make their lives better”.
Mr. Bagbin’s comments were in connection with Wednesday’s downpour in Accra and some other parts of the country which led to the usual stagnation in human and vehicular movements.
Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament has questioned government’s reason for taking the responsibility of flood control from the Works and Housing Ministry to a department within the same Ministry.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament, the Minority Leader stated that the flooding challenges confronting the country transcend the establishment of another bureaucratic state agency.
He added that, the change of the Hydrological Services Department into an Authority is pointless.
“I don’t need to ask him [the Works and Housing Minister] why from January 2021, he waited until 2022 when the flooding problem is now a national crisis.
Flooding, particularly in Accra, is an unacceptable perennial problem. I do not think the solution lies in just a bureaucracy called a strengthened Hydrological Authority”, Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu argued.
Wednesday’s Flood
Some notable places in the Greater Accra Region were flooded following today’s downpour.
The affected places included the Tema Station Junction and Osu.
At the Tema Station junction, there was a heavy gridlock as vehicles struggle to move through the flood.
Video footage from the Ghana News Agency also showed several vehicles stuck in the flood.
Also, parts of Osu were flooded with some areas almost submerged by the floods.
Some Ghanaians took to social media to share how the Wednesday downpour has affected them.
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