The Director General of the National Development Planning Commission has suggested what he says is an easier way to stop flooding in the country.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Monday, Dr Kojo Mensah-Abrampa called on all District Assemblies in the country to join forces to contribute their quota to address the problem.

His was responding to host, Blessed Sogah's question on how much it will cost Ghana to effectively tackle the flooding issue.

Although Dr Mensah-Abrampa refrained from hazarding a figure to that effect, he believes that “if every District Assembly in this country can devote 30% of their resources over the range of time” it could go a long way.

https://youtu.be/VqD-4OyqG1w

He added that if the Commission is also able to satisfy the essential requirement, flooding will be a thing of the past.

He, however, stated that “30 % of the resources is enormous given how much of our budget we devote for infrastructure for that matter.”

Dr Mensah-Abrampa further stated that a huge proportion of the resources can be saved if people change their attitude with respect to construction, sanitation, deforestation among others.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye has emphasised the need for a dedicated source of funding to tackle the country’s vulnerability to flooding which is gradually becoming a national menace.

Given the scale of flooding challenges in flood-prone areas, and especially in areas that were hitherto not known for flooding, the sector Minister believes it’s time Parliament gives a serious consideration to committing a proportion of some statutory funds to enable the Ministry to undertake more interventions to mitigate the impact of flooding in the country.

Delivering a statement in Parliament on Thursday on measures being taken by the Ministry to address flooding challenges in the country, the sector Minister indicated that though the government has, in the last five years, committed about ¢450 million under National Flood Control Programme (NFCP), to mitigate perennial flooding, the recent climate change-induced flooding incidence across the world is a warning that a dedicated source of funding is now imperative in ensuring that the country is resilient to the effects of climate change, now and in the future.

https://myjoyonline.com/perennial-flooding-parliament-concerned-over-non-release-of-funds-to-works-and-housing-ministry

But Parliament has expressed its dissatisfaction with Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta over the non-release of funds to the Ministry of Works and Housing for crucial drainage works aimed at addressing the persistent flooding in Accra and other parts of the country. 

This was after the Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye was summoned together with the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta by the Speaker to provide an update to the House on the measures being taken to tackle the flooding problem in Accra and other parts of the country, after Kwame Agbodza, First Deputy Minority Whip raised concerns about the devastating impact of flooding in the country. 

Members of Parliament from both sides of the House voiced their concerns, highlighting that the government had failed to allocate funds to the Ministry since 2020, hampering its ability to effectively operate.