Floods: Ga Central residents laud govt’s support but calls for better gutters

Some residents in the Ga Central Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region have called city authorities to as a matter of urgency take steps to prevent a repeat of the June 3 fatal floods.

The Assembly recorded seven deaths with thousands of residents misplaced after their houses were submerged in floods following the heavy downpour.

Most of them have so far received various relief items from government, including mattresses, blankets, bags of rice and sugar, powdered milk, cooking oil, canned fish, cartons of tea, buckets and mosquito nets.

Though the victims were appreciative of the government’s support, the relief items were the least of their concerns.

Some residents who spoke to myjoyonline.com called on government to construct proper drainage systems to ensure that the area is not flooded next time it rains. Many said the demolition of properties built on waterways that are blocking free flow of water would be in order.

Ashford Mensah, who has lived in Kwashiebu within the Assembly for the past 30 years, said the situation keeps worsening yearly. He feared residents could face the worse disaster as the rains set in if government continues to pay lip service to their plight.

Shakira Saliu who had almost all her property destroyed by the flood summed up the concerns of the rest of the residents.

“They have brought some food stuff around, we are grateful, thank you, but that is not the issue because we keep facing the same problem every year…

“My room is in total mess, what they are doing is rather worsening our plight, the drainage system is the problem they should rather solve it once and for all. I am fully in support of any demolition exercise that would ensure that we are not submerged in flood the next time it rains.”

Aristo Aryee
The Municipal Chief Executive of Ga Central Municipal Assembly, Aristo Aryee, told Myjoyonline.com the Assembly would ensure proper drainage in the area to prevent future occurrence.

He put the number of households displaced to 170 in the municipality. He said the Assembly would complement the support from central government to residents in his area.

“These items are actually coming from the president himself, he called for a meeting and instructed that the moment we get some relief items, all items should be shared on the same day that they come.”