Hydrological Department Desilts Accra Drains
Monday June 29, 2009
By Lawrence Akpalu
The Hydrological Services Department has begun an exercise to desilt all drains in flood-prone areas in the metropolis.
Mr Wise Ametefe, head of the department, under the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, announced this on Thursday when the Technical Committee of the National Disaster Management Committee (NADMO) toured areas hit by the recent floods in Accra.
The tour was to afford the committee the opportunity to assess the situation and make recommendations to the appropriate authorities for redress.
Mr Ametefe said the open pond areas which were blocked would also be opened to allow the free flow of running water in order to ease the pressure on the channels that had been choked by waste and illegal structures.
Mr Ametefe said some channels which were re-directed into other channels would be redesigned and opened up to create enough space to allow more intake of water.
He hinted that the Darkuman Junction drain alone would cost the nation GH¢320,000 to reconstruct through Accra-Academy to Kaneshie so as to contain the excess water that comes from Darkuman and its environs.
“We have to demolish all illegal structures on waterways to help stop this annual ritual of crying wolf when it rains,” he said.
Mr Ametefe therefore, called on the Judiciary and the Ministry of Local Government to partner his outfit in enforcing building regulations in the country.
“It is only through such efforts that private developers would see the dangers posed by their illegal actions,” he said.
The Co-ordinator of NADMO, Kofi Portuphy, called on community members to expose people who flout building regulations in the city.
That, he said, would help his outfit to take prompt action in stopping such projects instead of allowing the buildings to be completed before attempting to demolish them.
He called on the Department of Town and Country Planning to involve NADMO in the process of issuing building permit to determine whether the site was safe for habitation or not.
The committee toured New Gbawe, Mallam, Sakaman, parts of Kaneshie and the Takoradi station at Kaneshie and all parts of Accra that were devastated by the recent floods.
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