Odaw River chokes again after dredging works

Less than a year after the Dredge Masters had flushed out a mass of waste matter from the Odaw River in Accra, the river is choked again.

The development is symptomatic of the insanitary conditions in Accra, which have turned the Odaw into a cesspool that produces nothing but diseases and environmental hazards.

The government spent huge sums of money to dredge the river of silt and clear loads of garbage from it, but residents are back in full force, throwing all manner of waste materials into the river, thus cutting back the progress made in sanitising the river.

Also, the despicable spectacle of people squatting along the banks of the river to defecate into it, which was curtailed for some time, is back.

The Odaw River flows from the Abokobi and Adjankote hills through Ashongman, Atomic Energy , West Legon, Achimota, Alajo, Avenor and Agbogbloshie before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean through the Korle Lagoon.

Notoriety

Notorious for its filth, the river has been the receptacle for volumes of waste associated with the city, a development that has been a dent on the image of Accra.

Dredge Masters, a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies, was awarded the contract to dredge the river in November 2015.

That was after a philanthropic work by Engineers and Planners had resulted in the dredging of parts of the river after the June 3, 2015 Accra floods.

Specific works undertaken by Dredge Masters included de-silting and refuse removal from the river to stop the perennial flooding.

From all indications, the government and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) would have to cough up additional funds to do another de-silting work soon.

From the Achimota areas flowing through Avenor, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Odawna and beyond, waste has accumulated in the river.

Satisfaction

During the commemoration of the second anniversary of the Accra flood and fire disaster, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, was reported to have expressed satisfaction with the work undertaken by the Dredge Masters.

He said but for the work undertaken by the Dredge Masters, the situation in the capital city could have been worse.

However, sprawling markets and other economic activities including those of scrap dealers along the river have worsened matters.

The more people continued to dump refuse indiscriminately, the more the refuse found its way into the Odaw.

Warning

Friends of Rivers and Water Bodies, an environmental non-governmental organisation which had been in the forefront of protecting the country’s rivers from harmful human activities, has warned of the adverse effects of the dying rivers in the country.

Its President, Nana Dwomoh Sarpong, has urged authorities at the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to be proactive in arresting those who pollute the rivers.