The National Director of Investigations of the Ghana National Fire Service has called on property owners, real estate developers and all Ghanaians to try as much as possible to purchase lands during rainy seasons.
According to Deputy Chief Fire Officer Patrick Donkor, acquiring lands during rainy seasons is the only time prospective buyers can make informed decisions about the property they want to acquire.
Mr. Donkor gave the advice after visiting Oyoko, Aberewa Nkwanta, Bohy3, Zongo and Nkubem all flood-prone areas in the New Juaben Municipality as part of a working visit to access activities in flood-prone areas in the region.
“I will advice that Ghanaians buy land only during rainy seasons because if you look at how people build on waterways, blocking the course of the water and even purchasing low lying areas for their projects I simply cannot understand. I do ask myself if they are sometimes misled into believing those lands are good lands during dry seasons or what”.
” We do this and create problems for ourselves after spending huge sums of money to develop the sites, so I am pleading that we buy lands during rainy seasons so when we go with agents and owners to the sites during the rainy season we turn to get a fair idea of the danger and risks we are inviting for ourselves should we buy low lying areas and swamps”.
The Ghana National Fire Service Command has dispatched a high powered delegation comprising of senior officers around the country to ascertain and furnish the service with first-hand information on flooding situation in the country.
This is part of moves to mitigate the effects of perennial flooding disasters recorded in the country to help save lives and properties.
In an interview with Citi News after touring some flood-prone areas in the New Juaben Municipality, the Director of Investigations of the Ghana Fire Service Deputy Chief Fire Officer Patrick Donkor said their reports after the tour will help the command and other stakeholders take informed decisions going forward.
“Authorities at the fire command are very much concerned about the rate of flooding cases recorded yearly in this country, we have studied and known perfectly that the floods affect us, our homes, properties and finances so we are trying to find a way of mitigating such disasters during the rainy seasons”.
“So we have been sent across the entire country to identify the common problems contributing to the floods so we find lasting solutions to it and also prompt other stakeholders to up their game to save lives and properties and this will be based on the reports we will send back to the headquarters”.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Patrick Donkor who was not happy about construction works and projects built on waterways advised the public to desist from changing the course of rivers.
“The major problem is reclamation of lands, during the rounds we saw that a number of people are constructing on waterways, changing courses of rivers and in some cases blocking the flow and this practice is not a healthy one. The most shocking of it is how some churches are involved in this same attitude, now you find churches who are supposed to also be propagating good information to the public and congregation not to acquire or put up property in certain areas are rather deeply rooted in buying low area plots.”
“I am therefore taking this opportunity to tell leaders of the churches to desist from acquiring lands in flood prone areas to avoid changing the course of rivers to help our work”.
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By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku
