Kumasi, May 23, GNA – The Ministry of Works and Housing is working with the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to tidy up the drainage system in Ghana’s second-largest city
This is to free the drains of filth hindering the free flow of liquid waste.
“The government is taking the necessary steps to avoid flooding in the wake of the rainy season for the safety of the people,” Mr. Samuel Atta Akyea, Minister of Works and Housing, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Kumasi.
This was on the sideline of a desilting exercise at the Central Business District (CBD) and had in attendance the Minister’s Deputy, Mr. Eugene Boakye-Antwi, as well as the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Mr. Osei Assibey-Antwi.
The Ghana Meteorological Agency, in its 2020 seasonal rainfall forecast, has predicted an ‘above normal’ rainfall for the year under review.
“At the peak of the season, there is a high probability of heavy rains accompanied by strong winds and lightning, which could lead to localized floods,” the Agency warned.
Mr. Atta Akyea, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa South was accompanied the MCE on an inspection tour to assess the conditions of drains in some parts of the metropolis.
They included the Asafo Interchange and Asafo Market, Alabar, and Adum drainage system.
The Minister and his Deputy, as well as the MCE, demonstrated leadership by example as they joined workers of the Zoomlion Ghana Limited, National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and other sanitation-related voluntary organizations to cleanse the drains.
Mr. Assibey-Antwi affirmed the Assembly’s determination to do all that it could to mitigate the incidence of flooding and related negative consequences.
He cautioned the citizenry against the indiscriminate dumping of refuse, saying, it behooved the people to always keep their surroundings clean.
The MCE said the country was already bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that, it was the responsibility of all and sundry to be responsive to environmental, sanitation, and health issues.
GNA