Convener of the OneGHANA Movement and finance and economic expert, Senyo Hosi, has described Ghana’s recurring floods as a failure of governance rather than a natural disaster.

He claimed that poor leadership and a lack of accountability are responsible for the country’s annual tragedy.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, June 6, during a discussion on the country’s perennial flooding, Mr Hosi said that the country continues to suffer avoidable disasters because authorities have failed to enforce planning laws and hold public officials accountable.

“Ghana’s flood problems are not a weather problem. They are largely a governance failure problem,” he said.

He said that the destruction caused by heavy rains should not be accepted as inevitable.

“These are not natural disasters. They are governance disasters. It’s a leadership disaster,” he stated.

According to him, Ghana will continue to experience devastating floods every rainy season unless accountability becomes a guiding principle of governance.

“Until we stop treating floods as a weather problem and start treating them as a governance and an accountability problem, we’ll be here every June counting more avoidable disasters,” he said.

Mr Hosi said that public officials have a constitutional duty to protect citizens but have consistently failed to do so.

“The duty of care that we have to others is enshrined in our constitution when you hold public office,” he said, questioning why waterways have been allowed to be occupied by buildings.

He compared Ghana’s situation with well-planned societies, where flooding is anticipated and managed through proper infrastructure.

“In very well-planned societies, floods do happen occasionally. But there’s a defined measure of rain or water flow that will cause a flood. It is planned for. It is not just happening. Here, every little thing creates a big problem,” he said.

Mr Hosi also reflected on the June 3, 2015 disaster, which claimed many lives after severe flooding and an explosion at a fuel station. He commended broadcaster Samson Lardy Anyenini for his efforts in seeking justice for victims.

“You’ve rendered service to humanity over the last eight years trying to fight for justice for these people,” he said.

However, he questioned whether anyone in government had ever been held responsible for the tragedy.

“June 3, 2015 happened. People died. Can somebody tell me who has been held accountable within government for failing to undertake their duty of care to the people of the country?” he asked.

He criticised authorities for allowing settlements to expand in waterways while treating the issue as a political matter instead of enforcing the law.

“For watching people build in waterways, for watching Sodom and Gomorrah grow and make it a political matter, who has been held accountable?” he questioned.

Mr Hosi further said that government action often comes only after lives have already been lost.

“Suddenly, we are hearing people say they are going to demolish structures every day. You are going to break them after people die, as if you didn’t have the responsibility to make sure that would not happen,” he said.

He criticised the construction sector, questioning the role of engineers who approve unsafe buildings.

“You look at some buildings coming up in this country and wonder whether there’s an engineer behind them,” he said.

He asked whether any engineer had faced legal consequences for supervising poor construction projects.

“Which engineer has been held liable, culpable, brought in front of TV, and both shamed and imprisoned for supervising shoddy jobs? Show me one,” he said.

Referring to the Melcom building collapse, Mr Hosi said public promises of accountability produced no meaningful results.

“Nothing happened,” he said.

He also called on the current administration to demonstrate leadership by holding public officials responsible for the latest flooding incidents.

“Mr President, who will you hold accountable for the disaster of now? Who will you hold accountable for the disaster of 2015 when you were president? You held nobody accountable,” he said.

He added that successive governments had failed to act decisively.

“If we continue this way, we are going to have recurring disasters covered in the idiotic frame of politics,” he stated.

Mr Hosi urged Ghana to build a culture of responsibility and accountability to prevent future tragedies.

“We must build an accountable society, and this must stop. It’s an avoidable disaster. It is not a mere disaster. It is bad governance,” he said.