By The Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has called for a fact-based national conversation on Accra’s recurring flooding, arguing that the challenge should be approached through sustained planning, engineering and infrastructure development rather than seasonal emergency responses.
Writing on Facebook on Tuesday, June 30, Mr Ahiagbah said flooding remains a long-standing challenge that has confronted governments for decades.
He stressed that while the problem cannot be eliminated overnight, administrations should be assessed on the long-term measures they put in place rather than on short-term reactions after heavy rainfall.
He maintained that the erstwhile Akufo-Addo–Bawumia administration deliberately shifted away from annual desilting exercises as the principal response to flooding by pursuing integrated flood management strategies.
According to him, these efforts combined drainage construction, waste management reforms, community upgrading and disaster preparedness through the World Bank-supported GARID programme.
“What distinguishes governments is whether they see the crisis as a one-time emergency or as a structural development challenge requiring engineering, planning, and ongoing investment,” he wrote.
Mr Ahiagbah also noted that one of the key innovations introduced under the previous administration was the establishment of a modern Flood Early Warning System for Accra.
He said equipment had been installed, service providers engaged and safe zones identified to provide advance warnings to vulnerable communities before floodwaters reached dangerous levels, thereby improving disaster preparedness and emergency response.
He concluded by urging the current administration to continue and accelerate the implementation of inherited flood-control projects instead of allowing them to lose momentum.
According to him, the investments already made should serve as a foundation for a sustained national response to flooding rather than becoming subjects of partisan debate.
“The Akufo-Addo–Bawumia government did not ignore Accra’s flooding crisis. It approached it with planning, engineering, international collaboration, sustained financing, and tangible infrastructure development,” he stated.
