Speaking to Citi News, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP),  Akuapem South MP, said the current government must take steps to deal with the problem before the onset of the rainy season, given that the past administration had ostensibly deceived the country.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Z7II4Vha8qf5Islv2TBd06sTiKkoYkjn”]According to him, indications from the Local Government Ministry are that money is now being procured for the project.

“I asked the question in Parliament; where is the CONTI money that we made so much noise about. The Minister for Local Government came to the House with the answer saying, they were still in the process of securing the money.”

“So the point I was making was that, you told whole the world that you had looked for money to solve our drainage problems but apparently they were deceiving all of us and they went around with all the fanfare.”

“If it took them five years and nothing came, and they were giving us the assurance that it was coming. Now it is obvious nothing came. It is now the new minister [Hajia Alima Mahama], who says she is going to look for money to solve the problem.”

In 2013, the government of Ghana and the Conti Group of Companies of the United States of America signed a US$660 million agreement for the drainage and sewage project.

The widely publicised project was to involve the construction of a massive drainage system for Accra to deal with Accra’s perennial flooding issues.

On the back of recent flooding in the capital, the Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea, has said it will cost the country about $700 million to deal with the perennial flooding in Accra alone.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Delayed CONTI project to blame for Accra flooding – O.B. Amoah appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This, she said, will help ascertain the level of preparedness of city authorities ahead of possible flooding in the rainy season.

Making her maiden statement on the floor of Parliament, the Klottey Korle MP called for urgent steps to be taken to prevent another flood disaster.

She noted that, the perennial flooding that occurs in the capital, especially in her constituency, had not been given the needed attention until the June 3 disaster.

“The catastrophic events of June 3 resulted in the deaths of around a 150 people, the displacement of thousands and the loss of millions of property,” she reminded.

The investigation of the disaster led to measures that were put in place to improve sanitation, and curb flooding in the area, including particularly the dredging of the Odaw River, which is known to overflow its bank anytime it rains.

But Dr. Zanetor  Rawlings believes intervention must stretch beyond the infrastructural reforms with a focus on sensitization of the communities.

“If we focus solely on the infrastructure without a serious focus on the human element, we are unlikely to succeed. Behavioural modification and sensitization to the effects of environmental pollution is fundamental.”

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By: Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Zanetor rallies parliament support to tackle flooding appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the company, squatters who live along the banks of the River, dump solid waste into it, compounding issues of flooding in Accra.

[contextly_sidebar id=”JmLxfradpH3sJ7ZwJv1TkGUQ8Tqc0tdp”]The Odaw River serves as a major channel that carries waste water from the city into the Atlantic Ocean.

Speaking to Citi News after last weekend’s downpour that flooded parts of Accra, Benard Amoh, the Operations Officer of Dredge Masters, said until steps are taken to control the dumping of garbage into the river, the channel will remain choked and cause further floods whenever it rains.

“Since we started, I can say we have removed about 1 million cubic meters of waste from the drain and as it stands now, the work that we have done is gone to zero because the canal is silted, there is no flow of water. We have now started a maintenance dredging that we have to come to clear all this silt again so that when there is heavy rainfall it does not affect the people dumping into the canal.”

“We have to come back to dredge again because with the onset of the rain, we don’t know how it will come. The major challenge is for the city authority to come and ward off the people or prevent them from dumping directly into the drain.”

Parts of Accra were flooded after a downpour over the weekend. This has triggered a longstanding discussion about how to resolve the country’s perennial flooding especially in the capital, Accra.

The Minister for Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea, earlier this week said Ghana needs $700 million to permanently address the flooding menace in Accra.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post Eject squatters to avert flooding – Dredge Masters appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Minister said this when he visited some flood affected areas today [Monday], as has been the norm, after such incidents. The Sunday downpour affected areas such as Asylum Down, Avenor, Alajo and the Kwame Nkrumah interchange.

Speaking to journalist after the tour, Mr. Atta Akyea said finding the funds to address the flooding would provide a permanent solution, considering that government has not lacked the required technical expertise.

“My only new approach will be finding money. The engineering sense won’t change. We are not going to reinvent the wheel. The engineers have put together the solution. All we need to do as a solution is to get the cash. If you have the money, the engineers will just roll out the plans and they will start working and you won’t see this again.”

The Minister explained that “from here, we are going to ensure that we do what will meet the emergency situations. The de-silting of drains is going to be carried out. Tentatively, I am seeing something in the neighbourhood of $700 million to fix what is in this area alone… this is what stares at us in the face every year, but we will find the money and do it.”

In the meantime, Mr. Atta Akyea said the dredging in critical areas would provide “a quick fix to ensure there is the free flow into the lagoon and eventually into the sea.”

Flooding on Sunday

The Sunday downpour once again left the Odaw river overflowing its banks. Parts of the Las Palmas restaurant at La Paz, were partially submerged in water whilst the road linking the Ring Road West towards Ako Adjei interchange was also flooded.

The 74 million euros spent on the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Interchange project also appears to have done little to alleviate the perennial flooding issue, as the rains once again left pedestrians stranded by flood waters around the interchange.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We’ll need $700m to solve Accra flooding – Atta Akyea appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Today [Sunday] saw some heavy rain in parts of the region’s capital, especially Kaneshie, which initial had people wading in run-off flood waters almost knee high.

When Citi News visited the Kaneshie market after the rains had subsided, there was an air normalcy as the flooding did not escalate into the dangerously high levels capital has witnessed in times past.

The bus stop by the market, just in front of Kaneshie foot bridge, was however still flooded and that is where some of our young men were making hay after the downpour.

They offered back rides to patrons wishing to cross to the market without soaking their shoes and clothing in the murky run-off waters.

Their charge was GHc 1 which could rise to GHc 5 depending on the intensity of the flooding.

Some people could be seen taking advantage of the service so as to keep from getting seriously wet and ruining their clothes and shoes.

Others decided to save their GHc 1 and waded through the water themselves.

Some of these boys, who shadow troskis for money on regular days, said they could make as much as GHc 40 to GHc 100 on a “normal day” of flooding.

“When flooding comes, we make happy… when the flood water comes like this, it is good for us,” one of them said to Citi News.

Today [Sunday] was however a slow day, as one of the boys put it, owing to the fact it was a weekend and the market was not the scene of the usual hustle and bustle that characterised weekdays.

They however retained some awareness of the adverse state of affairs that made them regard the flooding as a business opportunity.

According to them, the day the flooding situation is addressed, “it will be sweet for us.”

“The market people, I don’t know if they have been complaining or they have not been complaining but this place [the bus stop] we have been complaining… we are making money but doing this thing is not sweet for us,” he noted.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Meet the boys cashing in on the inconvenience of flooding [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.