Speed up drainage works – Oppong Nkrumah

In a bid to prepare for the impending rainy season and mitigate the risk of flooding, the Minister for Works and Hous­ing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has issued a directive urging the Ghana Hydrological Authority to expedite drainage works across the country.

The directive by the Minister is to minimise the potential impact of heavy rains on communities in flood-prone areas of the country.

The Minister issued the directive during an inspection of ongoing dredging works on the Odaw River Basin as well as flood mitigation measures being implemented in several communities in Alogboshie, Kasoa-Iron City, Weija and its sur­rounding environs on Saturday.

“For us, one of the key things is the speed of work. We want to be clear that our contractors need to ensure that they deliver on time or sometimes as quickly as possible ahead of schedule,” he stated.

Accompanied by key officials from the Ministry and its agencies including Dr Kwadwo Ohene Sarfoh, Project Coordinator at GARID, and Dr John Kisi, Chief Executive Officer of the Gha­na Hydrological Authority, Mr Oppong Nkrumah inspected the progress of various drainage proj­ects in Accra.

These projects, under the Great­er Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) and the Ghana Hydrological Authority, are aimed at addressing perennial flooding issues, particularly in the capital.

The drainage and desilting works for beneficiary Assemblies in the Greater Accra Region is under gov­ernment’s National Flood Control Programme (NFCP).

The government has so far committed about GH¢450 million under the programme, to mitigate perennial flooding especially in Accra.

At the time of inspection, dredging works of the Odaw River has been ongoing for about two weeks, with Dredge Masters tasked with removing solid waste materials along a 10-kilometre stretch of the river.

In addition to dredging works, construction of storm drains are underway in various communities as part of GARID’s Community Upgrade Programme.

The inspection tour also took the Minister and his entourage to Alog­boshie, Kasoa-Iron City, and Weija to inspect ongoing construction sites in those communities.

Dr Sarfoh who briefed the Minister on ongoing construction of a storm drain in Alogboshie, highlighted government’s efforts to reduce the risk of flooding in Accra following the June 3rd flood disaster.

Along the Weija-Kasoa highway, Dr Kissi briefed the Minister who inspected ongoing works and the construction of a drain that would prevent runoffs from the mountain side of the road from flooding the street.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah stressed the need for adequate engagement with affected persons as a result of ongoing construction works to ensure that they were duly compen­sated.

He said much as government was looking to mitigate the risk of flooding in the city, it should not come under circumstances where people were rendered homeless with no proper compensation.

He admonished the beneficiary assemblies, to take responsibility for regular maintenance and to reg­ularly desilt to make the investment worthwhile in order for residents to benefit fully from the drainage systems when completed.

 BY TIMES REPORTER

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