By Elsie Appiah-Osei
Accra, June 30, GNA -The government, as part of a new strategy to curb flooding and restore the capital’s natural drainage system, has announced plans to demolish structures encroaching on six wetlands in Accra.
The decision comes days after devastating floods on Monday, June 29, which claimed 10 lives, displaced 7,761 households, and affected thousands of residents across several communities in the Greater Accra Region.
Commenting on a statement on the Floor of Parliament on Tuesday, Madam Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui, the Deputy Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, said restoring the wetlands was “critical to preventing future flooding”.
The government, she said, was ready to take “difficult but necessary decisions.”
She stated: “Mr. Speaker, we have about six wetlands that have to be restored in Accra alone. The reason we have to do this is that we need spaces where we can hold water. The rivers must be given their room and the streams must be given their space.”
According to the Deputy Minister, years of encroachment had reduced the wetlands’ capacity to retain water during heavy rains, increasing the speed and volume of runoff into the capital.
Madam Tetteh-Agbotui, also the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Awutu -Senya West, warned persons who built on, or sold, wetland areas to seek refunds, saying government will reclaim the land for its intended purpose.
“Mr. Speaker, so those wetlands that have been encroached upon, for those who have encroached and for those who sold the lands please find a way of getting your money back, because the government is going to take them and use them for the right purpose,” she said.
She added that wetland restoration, alongside securing sustainable funding and enforcing demolitions, formed part of government’s long-term strategy to strengthen flood resilience and protect lives and property.
Monday’s rains recorded 169.2mm in a single day, contributing to June 2026 becoming the wettest June since 1995 with 593.2mm, according to the Minister for the Interior.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Elsie Appiah-Osei
Reporter’s email address: [email protected]