The June 3 disaster could happen again if Local Government authorities fail to institute measures aimed at desilting the Odaw River, Assembly Member for Odawna electoral area, Hendrik Kinna has said.
Mr. Kinna made this known when he was queried by Eyewitness News Host, Umaru Sanda Amadu on measures government had taken to avert a similar disaster from recurring.
[contextly_sidebar id=”QR3JcDtXpuZjJ1SabyAXPaLmPGyxPmEa”]It’s been three years since the flooding and fire disaster which claimed about 150 lives occurred.
Following the incident, the then Metropolitan Chief Executive of Accra, Alfred Okoe Vanderpuijie, had assured residents that such a disaster will never occur again as the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) will complete the desilting of the Korle lagoon and create more drainage systems within Accra.
However, almost three years down the line, Mr. Kinna said most of these promises had not been realized, adding that enough was not done to forestall similar incidents in the future.
Residents’ safety not guaranteed
Mr. Kinna further pointed out that, the safety of residents cannot be guaranteed during the rainy season, despite previous assurances from the government at the time, saying “I cannot tell whether they will be safe because we do not know the amount of rain that will come in.”
He indicated that, although a subsidiary of Jospong Group , Dredge Masters was subsequently contracted to desilt the Odaw River , it failed to complete its work, thus leaving most of the drainage systems around the Odawna area still choked.
He therefore called for the swift intervention of Local government authorities, saying “We are still waiting for the Local government to get Dredge Masters to desilt the filth in the Odaw- the Dredge masters were doing this so they have to continue their work.”
A GOIL fuel station near the GCB Bank towers at Circle in Accra was gutted by fire when a fuel tanker exploded amidst severe floods.
Over 150 bodies of persons who were seeking shelter at the fuel station and others stuck in vehicles due to the heavy rain and flooding, were burnt to death.
–
By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah