MP drags Minister to Parliament over poor Drainages in Okaikwei North Constituency

The Member of Parliament for Okaikwei North, Hon Theresa Lardi Awuni has dragged the Minister for Works and Housing to parliament over the poor drainage system in the constituency which led to floods on the New Achimota roads during rains.

According to her, the poor drainage system has been the major contributing factor to the perennial floods leading to the destruction and displacement of residents.

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask the Minister for Works and Housing what urgent measures the Ministry is taking to address the drainage system around New Achimota overhead, to avoid floods on the roads within the Okaikwei North Constituency,” Hon Theresa quizzed the Minister

In response, the sector Minister, Hon Francis Asens- Boakye said, the Ministry of Works and Housing is conscious of the increasing risk of flooding in many parts of Accra including the Okaikwei North and that the Ministry is working to fix them.

According to him, the floods in Accra resulted from the fact that the region is low-lying; hence, many communities are prone to flooding.

He told parliament that, “several projects have been initiated across the capital to mitigate flood risk, including the completion of construction of Three Hundred and Four (304) meters of Drains at Apenkwa.”

“Mr. Speaker, in addition, the Ministry of Works and Housing, under the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project will be reconstructing a 900-meter length of drain extending from the N1 Road Bridge to the new Achimota Bridge,” the Minister added.

Mr. Asenso-Boakye explained that the project’s scope of work includes the redesign and reconstruction of the damaged slabs at Abofu and the expansion of the capacity of the drain to hold more stormwater to reduce the risk of flooding in the community.

In addition, he said, the GARID Project, would be undertaking community upgrade works in Alogboshie, including the construction of tertiary drains, which will help alleviate the risk of flooding.

‘The procurement for the construction of the works is currently ongoing and it is expected that the construction will begin in the second quarter of this year,” THE Works and Housing Minister further told parliament.

He, however, appealed to the MP, Hon Theresa Awuni to add her voice to calls by the government for the residents to maintain proper solid waste disposal practices, in order to curb flooding in the country.