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The Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE) says it is preparing a unified position on Ghana's recurring flooding challenges while developing a new platform to monitor the government's performance on infrastructure commitments.

President of the Institution, Ing. Ludwig Annang Hesse, disclosed this during an interview on JoyNews' Super Morning Show as discussions intensified following the flooding that affected several parts of Accra after heavy rains on Wednesday, June 3.

According to him, engineers across various disciplines are currently consulting among themselves before presenting a collective position on the country's flood management and infrastructure challenges.

"We are consulting among ourselves, and when we are sure of what we want to say collectively, we will come out and it will be very soon," he said.

His comments come at a time when many residents are once again questioning the effectiveness of flood-control measures after several roads and communities in the capital were inundated following the latest downpour.

Ing. Hesse said the engineering body intends to ensure that any recommendations it presents are based on broad consensus among professionals within the sector.

He also announced that the Institution will launch the second edition of its Infrastructure Report Card before the end of June.

The report, first published about a decade ago, assesses the state of critical infrastructure across the country and highlights areas requiring urgent attention.

"The intention was that it would be done every five years, but we sort of re-engineered on it," he explained.

According to him, the new report has been expanded beyond its previous scope and was reviewed by the Institution's council during its recent meeting.

Beyond the report card, the GhIE President revealed that the Institution is developing a separate accountability platform that will periodically assess whether governments are delivering on promises made in the area of engineering and infrastructure development.

He noted that while the Infrastructure Report Card evaluates the state of infrastructure, it does not specifically track commitments made by public officials and agencies.

"We are working towards creating that second platform where we can now come out and probably every half year or something, come back and put a monitoring on what promises government has made in the area of engineering infrastructure and the well-being of our people," he stated.

The proposed framework is expected to provide periodic assessments of government commitments relating to roads, drainage systems, flood-control projects and other critical infrastructure.

Ing. Hesse acknowledged that the initiative may take time to fully materialise because much of the work is being undertaken by volunteers within the engineering profession.

However, he expressed confidence that the Institution would deliver both the Infrastructure Report Card and the monitoring platform as part of efforts to improve accountability and contribute to national development.

The announcement comes against the backdrop of growing public concern over the recurring floods that continue to affect Accra and other urban centres during the rainy season, despite years of investments in drainage and flood mitigation projects.

With the rains expected to continue in the coming weeks, many residents and stakeholders will be looking to policymakers, city authorities and engineering experts for practical solutions to a challenge that has persisted for decades.

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