President John Dramani Mahama has cautioned that public officials who approved building permits within the Weija Dam spillway risk being dismissed from their posts, following growing concerns over encroachment in flood-prone areas.

Speaking at an engagement with the Ghanaian community in London on Sunday, May 31, the President said he has instructed the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, to investigate those responsible for issuing the permits, stressing that sanctions would be applied where wrongdoing is established.

“We need to punish those who signed the permit for that. I’ve told the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs to find out who signed these permits. We will not transfer them to the north, we will sack them,” he stated.

President Mahama attributed the situation to the actions of some traditional leaders, landowners and local assembly officials, whom he accused of allowing development in areas designated for water flow and flood control.

He explained that sections of land around the spillway, which are meant to support the safe release of excess water from the Weija Dam during heavy rainfall, have increasingly been sold and developed for residential use.

“Part of the problem is the local councils and assemblies. You find a house in a waterway. And somebody signed a permit for them to build there. Look at the Weija Dam; it has a spillway.

"In the dry season, these same traditional rulers and landowners will sell land to people in the spillway of the dam, and when they open the spillway, your house is flooded with water,” he said.

The Weija Dam, which supplies water to parts of Accra and surrounding communities, is periodically spilt during periods of heavy rainfall to prevent overflow and safeguard the facility.

Downstream communities, including Tetegu, are currently grappling with the aftermath of recent spillage, with many residents displaced and properties destroyed.