President Mahama has advised Ghanaians to channel lessons learnt from past disasters into finding ways to prevent future ones in the country.
He stated that so far there has been an ‘unprecedented number of floods’ already in 2015 in several countries, which had resulted in the ‘loss of many lives’ including in Indonesia, the United States of America, Malawi and Mozambique and most recently in Ghana.
Scores were killed in a heavy rain that flooded the capital Accra and and inferno razed the GOIL fuel station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle to the ground.
[contextly_sidebar id=”LsTXqOfijNWe3pInu2ZbAJMvrstjbP4n”]According to President Mahama, despite the predictions of more heavy rainfall in the month June in the country, steps should be taken to prevent any of associated dangers from occurring and Ghanaians should not just brace themselves for more flooding.
“The Ghana Meteorological Agency predicts torrential rainfall within this period [June]. But that does not mean that we must leave ourselves unprotected. We must learn from the past so that we are prepared to face the inevitable events of the future,” he advised.
The President also outlined measures that had been taken by the government, including the demolition of structures on waterways, to prevent disasters like last Wednesday’s from recurring.
“The responsible Government institutions have started clearing illegal structures obstructing our waterways. The relevant authorities are being enjoined to ensure compliance with the safety codes for building and the enforcement of our sanitation by-laws. We’ve commenced an urgent clearance of filth and waste from our storm drains and lagoons,” he said.
“We’ve also commenced the design and implementation of a more adequate and efficient drainage system for Accra. In addition funds have been provided for the reconstruction of the roads and other public infrastructure that were destroyed by the floods.” President Mahama added.
The president was speaking at a National Memorial Service for victims of flood and fire disaster which was held at the forecourt of the State House earlier today [Wednesday] June 10, 2015.
The memorial service ended the 3-day national mourning period for the lives that were lost in what has been described as one of the saddest incidents in Ghana’s history.
He confirmed the deaths of 152 people in the two disasters although he added that this was only provisional, with indications that the death toll could rise.
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana