Let’s guard against June 3 disaster

Today marks exactly a year when one of the darkest events to have occurred in our history rocked the country.

Hours of downpour, coupled with an inferno at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, led to a needless loss of lives. The incident claimed 159 lives, while about 300 people were directly affected.

President John Mahama, in declaring three days of mourning following the event, said: “As we mourn the departed today and the days ahead, let us work together as one team and one nation united in grief but determined not to have a repeat of such a national disaster.”

His was a clarion call to action to free our communities of the filth that prevents the free flow of water anytime it rains.

Almost a year down the lane, checks by the Daily Graphic indicates that not all the recommendations made by a comittee the government set up have been followed through.

Apart from the desilting of the Odaw drain, which is currently being done by Dredge Masters, and an attempt to ban plastics, which was scuttled by stakeholders who said a complete ban would not inure to the benefit of the country, as many people would lose their jobs or livelihoods, many of the recommendations are yet to be implemented.

It is not known whether air ambulances and helicopter firefighters have been procured by the government to be managed by the Ghana Air Force, as suggested.

Rather, some of the structures that were pulled down in the wake of the floods for not possessing permit, ostensibly to allow for the free flow of water when it rains and thereby preserve lives and property or later sprang up.

In the wake of the devastating floods, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development also directed metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to remove unauthorised structures that impeded the flow of storm water. 

On Saturday, May 21, 2016, the Greater Accra Region was hit by long hours of rainfall and floods. Notable among the affected suburbs were Adabraka, Darkuman, Kaneshie and the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. 

That was a clear indication that the country is behind time as far as preparations towards the rainy season are concerned. 

The common causes of floods in communities are improper settlement planning, poor drainage system, indiscriminate disposal of waste, deforestation, choked gutters and lack of vegetation.

It has become the norm that most drains in Accra and other parts of the country are left open. Unfortunately, people dump refuse and all manner of waste substances into them, a situation that prevents the flow of rainwater.

The Daily Graphic remains apprehensive of the preparations that have been made as we approach another rainy season.

The questions are: Should June 3, 2015 repeat itself?; have we instituted measures for containment?; and have we done much by way of forestalling its recurrence?

As a nation, we seem to have lost appreciation of the wise saying: “A stitch in time saves nine” but rather seem to be more reactive than taking preventive steps.

We cannot stand aloof for precious lives to be lost when the downpours begin shortly. Let’s take the needed steps to prevent, for once, the perennial flooding of Accra.