Once again, Accra has been brought to its knees by heavy rains. Roads have become rivers. Homes and businesses have been submerged. Families have lost property accumulated over years of hard work. Commuters have been stranded for hours. Some people have been displaced, while others have paid the ultimate price with their lives.
Sadly, this is no longer news. It is an annual ritual.
For decades, every major rainfall has exposed the same weaknesses in Ghana’s capital. The causes remain unchanged: choked drains, poor planning, unauthorized developments on waterways, inadequate drainage infrastructure, indiscriminate dumping of waste, and weak enforcement of planning regulations.
After each disaster comes the familiar promises. Committees are formed. Assessments are conducted. Relief items are distributed. Political statements are made. Then, as the floodwaters recede, so does the urgency until the next rainy season.
Dear President John Dramani Mahama, this is one issue that deserves your anger.
Not the anger that produces headlines, but the kind that drives decisive action. The kind that refuses excuses. The kind that demands accountability from every institution and official responsible for planning, sanitation, drainage, environmental protection and local governance.
Flooding in Accra is no longer merely a natural disaster. It is increasingly the result of human decisions and institutional failures.
How can drains be dredged only after the rains have started? Why do buildings continue to spring up on waterways despite existing laws? Why are sanitation by-laws rarely enforced? Why do contractors leave drainage projects unfinished for years without consequences? Why do agencies with overlapping responsibilities continue to operate in silos while citizens suffer?
These questions require answers backed by action.
The government has already demonstrated its willingness to tackle difficult national challenges in other sectors. The same determination must now be directed at flooding.
This will require more than emergency responses. It demands a coordinated national flood management strategy that prioritises preventive action over disaster relief. Drainage systems must be redesigned to accommodate today’s urban realities, not those of decades ago. Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies must strictly enforce planning regulations, regardless of who is affected. Illegal structures obstructing waterways should be removed through lawful processes, (as is is being undertaken currently in parts of Accra) while sanitation laws must also be applied consistently without fear or favour.
The Citizens also have responsibilities. No government can completely eliminate flooding if drains continue to serve as dumping grounds for plastic waste and refuse. Public education, behavioural change and strict enforcement must go hand in hand.
However, leadership begins at the top.
Ghanaians are looking for a clear signal that the era of treating flooding as an unavoidable seasonal inconvenience is over. They want to see agencies held accountable for preventable failures. They want measurable timelines for drainage improvements. They want progress that can be seen before the next rains arrive, not explanations after another disaster.
The economic cost of recurring floods is enormous. Businesses lose millions of cedis. Public infrastructure is damaged repeatedly. Productivity declines as workers and students become stranded. Insurance claims rise. Investor confidence is affected. And most painfully, lives are lost in circumstances that are often preventable.
No modern capital city should repeatedly experience this level of disruption from rainfall.
History will not remember how many statements were issued after each flood. It will remember whether this generation of leaders finally broke the cycle.
Mr. President, Ghanaians do not simply need sympathy after every flood. They need resolve before the next one.
The time has come for bold decisions, uncompromising enforcement and sustained investment in flood prevention.
Ghana needs your anger—not against the rain, but against the decades of negligence, indiscipline and institutional complacency that continue to turn rainfall into national tragedy.
President Mahama, Ghana Needs Your Anger to Address Perennial Flooding, Especially in Accra
By Jones Anlimah
Once again, Accra has been brought to its knees by heavy rains. Roads have become rivers. Homes and businesses have been submerged. Families have lost property accumulated over years of hard work. Commuters have been stranded for hours. Some people have been displaced, while others have paid the ultimate price with their lives.
Sadly, this is no longer news. It is an annual ritual.
For decades, every major rainfall has exposed the same weaknesses in Ghana’s capital. The causes remain unchanged: choked drains, poor planning, unauthorized developments on waterways, inadequate drainage infrastructure, indiscriminate dumping of waste, and weak enforcement of planning regulations.
After each disaster comes the familiar promises. Committees are formed. Assessments are conducted. Relief items are distributed. Political statements are made. Then, as the floodwaters recede, so does the urgency until the next rainy season.
Dear President John Dramani Mahama, this is one issue that deserves your anger.
Not the anger that produces headlines, but the kind that drives decisive action. The kind that refuses excuses. The kind that demands accountability from every institution and official responsible for planning, sanitation, drainage, environmental protection and local governance.
Flooding in Accra is no longer merely a natural disaster. It is increasingly the result of human decisions and institutional failures.
How can drains be dredged only after the rains have started? Why do buildings continue to spring up on waterways despite existing laws? Why are sanitation by-laws rarely enforced? Why do contractors leave drainage projects unfinished for years without consequences? Why do agencies with overlapping responsibilities continue to operate in silos while citizens suffer?
These questions require answers backed by action.
The government has already demonstrated its willingness to tackle difficult national challenges in other sectors. The same determination must now be directed at flooding.
This will require more than emergency responses. It demands a coordinated national flood management strategy that prioritises preventive action over disaster relief. Drainage systems must be redesigned to accommodate today’s urban realities, not those of decades ago. Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies must strictly enforce planning regulations, regardless of who is affected. Illegal structures obstructing waterways should be removed through lawful processes, (as is is being undertaken currently in parts of Accra) while sanitation laws must also be applied consistently without fear or favour.
The Citizens also have responsibilities. No government can completely eliminate flooding if drains continue to serve as dumping grounds for plastic waste and refuse. Public education, behavioural change and strict enforcement must go hand in hand.
However, leadership begins at the top.
Ghanaians are looking for a clear signal that the era of treating flooding as an unavoidable seasonal inconvenience is over. They want to see agencies held accountable for preventable failures. They want measurable timelines for drainage improvements. They want progress that can be seen before the next rains arrive, not explanations after another disaster.
The economic cost of recurring floods is enormous. Businesses lose millions of cedis. Public infrastructure is damaged repeatedly. Productivity declines as workers and students become stranded. Insurance claims rise. Investor confidence is affected. And most painfully, lives are lost in circumstances that are often preventable.
No modern capital city should repeatedly experience this level of disruption from rainfall.
History will not remember how many statements were issued after each flood. It will remember whether this generation of leaders finally broke the cycle.
Mr. President, Ghanaians do not simply need sympathy after every flood. They need resolve before the next one.
The time has come for bold decisions, uncompromising enforcement and sustained investment in flood prevention.
Ghana needs your anger—not against the rain, but against the decades of negligence, indiscipline and institutional complacency that continue to turn rainfall into national tragedy.
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