Amanda Clinton is a lawyer
Legal practitioner and political analyst Amanda Akuokor Clinton has blamed Ghana’s persistent flooding problem on poor urban planning and weak regulatory enforcement, rather than the rains themselves.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, May 24, 2025, monitored by MyNewsGh, Clinton argued that the country does not have a flooding problem in the traditional sense.
“We don’t necessarily have a flooding problem in Ghana,” she said. “We have a planning and enforcement problem. That’s what it is, and we need the boldness to prevent it,” she said.
Her remarks come in the wake of yet another round of deadly floods affecting parts of Accra and other urban areas. Clinton said the issue isn’t new — it’s a recurring crisis that continues to claim lives because of systemic negligence.
“If we can’t manage our drainage, we won’t be able to handle our future,” she stated.
“It really is about planning, enforcement, and the boldness to act. If we can’t do this, how are we going to build the future that we want?”
Clinton also referenced the $150 million 2024 GARID project loan secured to improve drainage systems, solid waste management, and urban resilience. Despite this financial support, she noted, the same areas continue to suffer from the same issues.
“Year after year, it’s the same areas, the same problems. There’s more flooding in other parts of the world, but you don’t see lives being lost. That tells you it’s not just a disaster problem—it’s a failure to design a proper system.”
She called the situation a “national embarrassment,” pointing out that basic rainstorms should not result in death and destruction.
“It’s sanitation, it’s waste, it’s drainage. Once we tackle this, maybe we could even conquer the world,” she concluded.