President of the Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE), Ing. Ludwig Annang Hesse, has warned that Accra’s infrastructure development trajectory over the past 30 years has been fundamentally flawed.

Speaking on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM, he said the city has moved in the wrong direction in its infrastructure choices, a situation he believes has worsened the impact of flooding in Accra following Wednesday’s rainstorm.

He explained that key water retention areas within the capital have been progressively compromised, with unchecked development encroaching on natural waterways and drainage paths.

"For the past 30 or 40 years, we have done things the wrong way. We have filled all the water-retention areas and low-lying lands, and we have built in places where development should never have occurred,” he said.

“Water that once took about 12 hours to travel from Aburi to Accra now takes roughly an hour. The natural systems that slowed down the movement of water have been destroyed,” he added.

According to him, these planning breaches continue to intensify the city’s vulnerability to recurrent flooding.

“All the water-retention areas in Accra have been compromised. We have brought this situation upon ourselves. We do not need a prophet anymore,” he said.

Ing. Hesse stressed that unless stricter enforcement of planning regulations is upheld and water systems are restored, urban flooding will remain a persistent national challenge, especially in rapidly expanding cities like Accra.

His comments follow persistent flooding in Accra anytime it rains. The floods have resulted in the loss of several lives and the destruction of properties running into several millions.

Even before the peak of the rainy season this year, several flooding cases have occurred across Greater Accra, with very low rainfall.

Experts have called on authorities to act or risk bigger consequences in the near future.