The United Party (UP) has said Ghana’s annual flooding in Accra and other parts of the country reflects 63 years of government failure to find a lasting solution, noting that the capital was already flooding without a clear plan as far back as 1963.
In a statement signed by Director of Communication Solomon Owusu, the UP said the last sixty-three years have passed “without any clear-cut plan by successive governments to deal with this menace,” citing a front-page Graphic photo from 1963 showing Accra inundated.
The party criticized both the NPP and NDC for spending huge sums on desilting the Odaw, a project it said could have been done with a few million cedis.
“At one point, we were told by the erstwhile NPP administration that Ghanaians must be prepared to catch fish in the Odaw and also prepare to have the entire catchment stretch of the Odaw area filled with five-star hotels, which never saw the light of day,” the statement said.
While acknowledging that cities worldwide also face floods due to climate change and heavy downpours, the UP argued Ghana’s case also reflects a lack of engineering solutions.
“Not only to indiscipline but also largely to engineering and climate change,” it stated.
The UP is calling on the current administration to immediately revisit and implement the Accra Plan developed by Professor Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew, which was based on demarcations by Governor Guggisberg and German planner, Professor Hubert O. Hoegg.
The party also said Master Plans developed for Accra, Tema, Sekondi Takoradi, and Kumasi in 1963 and abandoned after the 1966 coup must be revived with amendments. The Accra plan was made for 400,000 people, but the city now has over 2.5 million.
The UP further proposed a “Behavioural and Mindset Change policy” to enforce law and order, promote discipline and patriotism, and improve attitudes towards work.
It added that all measures will fail if “people entrusted with state power do not exhibit arrogance of power.”
The party urged the government to consider the proposals immediately and wished Ghanaians safety during the floods.
