By Christopher Tetteh
Akwatia, (Eastern), Sept. 23, GNA – Mr Wonder Davor, the Head of Works Department at the Denkyembour District Assembly in the Eastern Region has urged communities to form watchdog committees to help stem the practice of putting up structures and buildings at waterways in the district.
He said the assembly would soon undertake an exercise to demolish all structures and buildings on waterways to prevent flooding and related disasters as the rains set in.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Akwatia, Mr Davor expressed concern about haphazard human settlement and developments which were contributing to recurring flooding, hence the need for the assembly to put in place proactive measures to avert flooding in the season.
He said: “We are going to demolish structures and buildings put up at unauthorized places and those blocking waterways in the district and we need the support of the local communities”.
Mr Davor said the Local Government Act has mandated the District Assemblies to “pull down any structure found on waterways, and we entreat the community members to also report those who are also putting up such structures and buildings in the prohibited areas too”.
He said: “It’s only the assembly which has the legal right to demolish that property and we therefore advise the community members not to take the law into their own hands.
So, what we expect from the community members is that they take the responsibility report to the assembly in order not to create lawlessness in the communities”.
Mr Davor, also the National President of the Institutions of Engineering and Technology, Ghana (IET, Ghana) urged the community members to endeavour to report those developers putting up buildings in wetlands.
He said: “The wetlands are reserved for the future and anyone who builds on waterways is naturally causing flooding in people’s homes” and reminded that it was mandatory that every developer acquire a building permit.
Mr Davor said permit application receipts “are not building permits” and cautioned the people to wait for their building permits before undertaking any physical development.
GNA
Edited by Dennis Peprah/Kenneth Odeng Adade