A GNA Feature by Christopher Tetteh
Sunyani, (Bono), June 24, GNA-Nature is perfectly designed to serve as frontline defense against flooding, as trees are positioned to intercept rainfall.
Divinely, the vegetation cover slows down runoff as wetlands store excess water with open spaces intentionally allowing rainwater to soak into the ground.
That is why flood prevention ought to be prioritised to build safer communities.
Flooding
In fact, flooding in the country is not merely a natural disaster, but occurs because of human negligence, indiscipline and poor waste management as well as haphazard developments.
The recurring flooding does not occur largely because of much rain; however, they often happen due to poor planning and systemic failures.
Causes of Flooding
Major causes of flooding in the country ranged from buildings blocking waterways to encroachment on wetlands and natural drainage channels.
Poor waste management and indiscriminate dumping of refuse in choked gutters and drainage systems heightened life-threatening situations.
More so, weak enforcement of planning and building regulations tailored with political and traditional interference in law enforcements, as well as failure to protect open spaces and reserved for drainage systems and improper environmental management accounted largely.
The causes of flood go beyond rainfall intensity to reckless human activities like concreting of houses and dumping waste materials into gutters.
The Reality
We cannot blame nature because rainfall does not kill, but poor decisions do.
The buildings that occupy wetlands and waterways do not belong to the poor, but apparently the rich and affluent in society.
This is because putting up those buildings in those areas is often expensive for the poor to afford.
Law enforcement
As a developing nation, Ghana ought to be decisive in tackling recurring flooding to save precious lives and properties.
In fact, rigid law enforcement on physical planning ought to be prioritised in the country if the nation can make a headway in addressing flooding.
That requires that more efforts must be made ensuring that the laws are strictly enforced devoid of interference because compliance today is safer tomorrow.
The Law
Under Ghana’s Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016 (Act 925), the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies are mandated to enforce physical development regulations and guidelines.
Section 118, 119 and 121 of the Law mandates the Assembly to enforce compliance with permit conditions, demolish unauthorized structures and buildings that do not conform to approved building plans.
The Act also mandates the Assemblies through their Planning and Works Departments to ensure development control and enforcement of the law.
That could be done through monitoring and inspections to ensure developers meet all building requirements.
Stakeholder concerns
Mrs Fati Kine Lam, the Bono Regional Director for the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), noted that preventing flooding remained collective responsibility.
She called for effective partnership between the government, Assemblies, chiefs and queens and relevant institutions and stakeholders to find lasting solutions to flooding in the country.
Mrs Lam said NADMO remained dedicated to undertaking flood and disaster awareness sensitization and urged stakeholder support too.
There is the need for all stakeholders to come together and enforce regulations, and urged community members to desist from indiscriminate waste disposal that turned to choke gutters and block waterways.
Mrs Gifty Nyarko, a physical planner, the African Ambassador for Inclusive Urban Governance and Climate-Resilient Development urged the government to prevent any form of political and traditional interference in law enforcement.
She said allowing the law to work would serve as a deterrent to others, calling for an end to physical development in waterways, drainage reservations and wetlands.
“When we preserve the wetlands, they serve their natural purposes of absorbing the surface water,” she stated.
Conclusion
In fact, strengthening development control and environmental enforcement systems cannot be overlooked if the nation wants to address flooding.
There is the need to intensify public education on planning and building regulations to protect drainage channels, wetlands and open spaces from encroachments.
The country requires conscious efforts to improve waste management and sanitation as well as law enforcement to safeguard the environment.
Other than that, flooding will continue to cause devastating effects on the nation, families and society.
GNA
Edited by Dennis Peprah/Benjamin Mensah
Writer: Christopher Tetteh
Writer’s email: [email protected]