A road and building consultant, Ing. Abdullai Mahama, wants Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to strictly deal with the issue of buildings on waterways.
According to him, the move will aid in addressing the problem of perennial flooding in parts of the country.
His call comes on the back of reports of flooding in some areas of the Greater Accra Region after a few hours of downpour on Wednesday, October 6.
The rains which started a few minutes after 5:00 pm lasted more than two hours.
Areas like Bukom, Adabraka, Kaneshie, and Ofankor among others reported incidents of flooding.
The situation also led to heavy vehicular traffic especially in the affected areas with many drivers staying in traffic for several hours.
Ing. Mahama in a Citi News interview said the various MMDAs must play a vital role in finding a solution to the flooding challenge.
He thus charged the assemblies to demolish buildings in waterways as stated by law to allow free flow of water.
According to him, until that is done, the issue of flooding will be persistent in the country.
“The assemblies are aware of the physical occupation of these structures, so the assemblies should be able to do the right thing by identifying areas where buildings are supposed to be constructed to know whether those buildings there have the necessary permits and in the case where there are no permits, invoke the clauses in the Land Uses and Stated Planning Act, Act 2016, and effect the demolition of such buildings to allow the free flow of water.”
