When the rains fall, Accra fails — Time for real action
Once again, Accra is underwater.
The heavy downpour on Sunday night left over 3,000 residents of the Odawna Sahara area displaced. Roads were submerged, homes flooded, businesses destroyed, and lives disrupted—all within a few hours of rainfall. It’s a scene that has become all too familiar in Ghana’s capital. Every rainy season reopens old wounds, exposes the same weaknesses, and yet somehow meets the same chorus of unfulfilled promises.
It is troubling that despite decades of recurring floods, we continue to treat each episode as though it were unexpected. The Odaw drain—a known flood risk—was choked with silt and waste. Predictably, it overflowed. The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) was swift to respond, but why should disaster management always play catch-up to problems that are well known and preventable?
Beyond the immediate humanitarian toll, the economic implications of flooding are staggering. Each flood event damages property, stalls productivity, and burdens an already strained public budget. Businesses close temporarily or permanently. Informal traders lose stock with no insurance or safety nets. Government agencies must divert funds to relief efforts instead of development projects. Cumulatively, the nation bleeds millions of cedis every year—not to mention the cost of lost investor confidence in an economy that already faces uncertainty.
What is missing is not knowledge. We know the causes: poor urban planning, weak enforcement of sanitation laws, illegal structures on waterways, and the absence of long-term investment in drainage infrastructure. What is missing is political will. The resolve to look beyond the news cycle and beyond partisan timelines to implement a permanent, strategic response.
How many more Ghanaians must be displaced before action is taken? How many more rainy seasons must pass before we move from reports and stakeholder dialogues to bulldozers and lasting reforms?
This is not a call for another task force or ‘fact-finding’ committee. It is a plea for real leadership. We must desilt our drains regularly, enforce zoning laws, invest in modern flood-control systems, and educate the public on waste disposal practices. Accra’s floods are not a natural disaster—they are man-made. Ghana deserves a capital city that is resilient, safe, and livable all year round. Let this be the year we take meaningful steps toward lasting solutions—for the safety, dignity, and well-being of all.
