The Interior Minister, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, says no drainage infrastructure could have prevented Monday’s devastating floods in Accra.

He insists the sheer volume of rainfall overwhelmed the capital and left authorities with little chance of stopping the disaster.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express after the torrential rains that claimed nine lives and destroyed property, the Asawase MP argued that the only way to have stopped floodwaters from entering homes would have been to transform the entire city into one giant drainage channel.

“We are really very sorry for the loss of life. We are sorry that this thing has really devastated Accra, but believe me, the only way this rain today could have been avoided from going into people’s homes was to lump the whole Accra as a drain, because you can see it from the aerial view.”

The minister acknowledged that government could improve its disaster preparedness but stressed that the country faces serious financial and logistical limitations.

“This country is not a rich country, where we have shelters so we can collect people and go and put them there. This country is not that rich. Let’s not be running away from actual responsibility and facing the reality.”

He added, “This country is not a rich country. We have limitations in what we can do and in the resources we have. So, yes, I agree, we could do more, but let’s not make it look like all politicians are people who are not thinking about the country; they are just thinking about themselves. They put them in positions; they are not proactive.”

Muntaka disclosed that government officials had been working through the night as the situation unfolded.

“I can bet you, we didn’t sleep. I didn’t sleep, and I knew I had to speak to the President early in the morning. I woke him up, and he’s been up and asking questions almost throughout, and he went around to say so.”

The Interior Minister also revealed efforts to improve emergency communication with the public, praising the Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, for quickly engaging mobile network operators to send warning messages.

“At least today, you’ve seen what’s some of the things we’ve been able to do. It’s not perfect, but at least everybody will attest that there’s some level of improvement. For the first time, I got my colleague, the Communication Minister, and I sincerely thank Sam George. I called him. I said, "Look, you need to help us. Can you get the telcos to send messages to people?" He was very swift. I believe that is the thing that we need to be doing.”

He said discussions have also begun to strengthen coordination across government.

“I’ve spoken to the Secretary to the President. We’ve agreed that as the Secretary to the President, he will be able to pull all of us as ministers together to come and sit down and make sure that we prepare ourselves.”

However, Muntaka questioned the timing of weather alerts, noting that although forecasts had warned of heavy rains in June and July, the specific alert for Monday’s storm came late.

“If you ask the Meteo person, he did not say that it’s going to rain today. Ask him, when did they give us the actual alert that this will happen? Yesterday, at 11 pm, when the majority of Ghanaians were asleep.”