Rains expose poor infrastructure

The rainiy season is still with us and, fortunately, each region is having its fair share of this natural occurrence.

Under normal circumstances, the coming of the rains, particularly at this time of the year, should be hailed in no uncertain terms because of the positive impact it will have on crop production. In many other parts of the continent, the rains have failed and the result is famine in those places. However, the same cannot be said of us because we are always blessed with the rains.

Suffice it to say that many people, at the sight of clouds gathering, pray for the rains to go away because whenever it rains, a lot of damage is done to properties and sometimes even human lives are lost.

A case in point is the June 3, 2015 flood and fire disaster that claimed over 150 lives.

In the last decade or so, the rains have persistently exposed the shoddy works done on roads constructed in the country.

Rainwater collects at different parts of the roads and these eventually develop into deep potholes. In many other instances, the entire surface of the road is washed off, leaving the bare soil. In the end, vehicle owners suffer because of frequent breakdowns and users of all vehicles face all kinds of inconvenience in the vehicles.

Many drains are not properly designed and, therefore, whenever it rains, the drains rather carry water onto the roads or residential areas, causing extensive damage to lives and properties.

Another source of worry is that supervision of such projects is virtually zero and, in the end, ordinary people are made to bear the brunt of this unpardonable negligence and incompetence on the part of our engineers.

In many jurisdictions, drains are covered, but that is not the case in the country. Most of our drains are not covered, making them rubbish dumps for recalcitrant people who persistently dump waste into them, without thinking of the consequences on residents.

The Daily Graphic is appalled by the devastation caused to public and private properties as a result of ineptitude on the part of public officials who are paid by taxpayers.

We are unable to understand why rains will bring, in their wake, severe damage to roads, some of which were constructed not long ago.

It is becoming the norm that, no matter how much the people complain, the authorities do nothing about ensuring that the most competent contractors are given jobs to execute to specification.

The same can be said of the drains which are done anyhow and are, in many instances, not able to serve the purpose for which they were constructed.

The Daily Graphic calls on sector ministers to crack the whip to ensure that the right things are done by their project executing agencies. For far too long, we have sat aloof to see the worse happen and then we cry over what went wrong.

We believe that should the people appointed to serve in responsible positions do their work without fear or favour, we will receive the rains with open arms and not curse the skies for letting the rains disrupt communication and bring about loss of lives and properties.