Aboabo River to be desilted — President Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has announced immediate plans to desilt the Aboabo River in Kumasi to save the city from further flooding.

Yesterday, while touring parts of the city that were affected by floods over the weekend, he said from today, equipment for the exercise would start coming in from Accra to desilt the river.

He also said the old bridge spanning the Aboabo River would soon be replaced with a new one to allow for the free flow of water.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Peter Anarfi-Mensah, and the Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Mr Kojo Bonsu, accompanied the President on his rounds.

Heavy rains

Hours of heavy rains in the Ashanti Regional capital from Saturday night into the early hours of Sunday wreaked havoc, claiming one life and destroying property.
The flood was worst in the Aboabo suburb where the Aboabo River burst its banks, with flood waters spilling into homes.
The Aboabo River takes its source from Tafo Pankrono in the northern part of the city and flows through Moshie Zongo, Buokrom, Aboabo and Anloga to join the Sesan River at Asokwa.

The river has been the cause of major flooding in the regional capital.
Massive dumping of refuse and open defecation in the river are a common sight.
Population growth along the river basin has worsened matters, and with the local authorities unable to enforce the laws prohibiting building along the river, the situation gets compounded when there are heavy rains in the city.

Crowds meet President

Large crowds poured into the streets at Dichemso, Aboabo and Anloga Junction to see the President.
While a good number of the people at Aboabo, a heavily populated suburb, cheered on the President for coming over to see their predicament, others held placards expressing their displeasure at the flood history of the area and plans by the KMA to demolish structures in the flood-prone areas.

Indiscipline

President Mahama expressed concern over the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in rivers in Accra and Kumasi, a practice which contributed to flooding during rainfall.
He consoled the family of the person who died in the flood and also commiserated with the people who lost their property.
He presented quantities of relief items, including mattresses and edibles, for distribution to the flood victims.