The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Works and Housing Committee, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, has urged Ghanaians to adopt more responsible attitudes towards waste disposal, warning that without behavioural change, even major infrastructure projects may prove ineffective in tackling flooding.

A decade ago today, Accra was gripped by one of the worst disasters in its history—a devastating combination of flooding and fire that claimed 154 lives and plunged the nation into mourning.

On the night of 3 June 2015, torrential rains battered the capital, and what began as a severe flooding emergency quickly escalated into a catastrophe when an explosion ripped through the GOIL fuel station near Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

As floodwaters rose rapidly, hundreds of people sought refuge at the filling station, hoping to escape the deluge.

However, leaking fuel began to spread across the water’s surface. In a matter of moments, a spark ignited the fuel, triggering a massive explosion that engulfed the area in flames.

Speaking on JoyNews’ News Desk on Tuesday, June 3, Mr Adjei-Mensah Korsah acknowledged that several projects under the Ghana Accelerated Rainfall Infrastructure Development (GARID) programme were actively progressing in areas such as Odorna and Avenor.

He noted that the committee had visited a number of these sites just three weeks ago and was satisfied that work was underway. However, the MP cautioned that infrastructure alone cannot resolve the perennial flooding challenges that afflict many parts of the country, particularly Accra.

“The projects are ongoing, but I’m saying notwithstanding, the problems to deal with flooding go beyond the mere infrastructure to deal with it,” he stated.

Mr Adjei-Mensah Korsah highlighted poor attitudes towards waste management as a major obstacle, especially the indiscriminate dumping of solid waste, most notably plastics, into drains.
“What is the point of creating drains if they just get filled with solid waste, particularly plastics? Then water cannot flow, so when they overflow, human lives and properties are in danger,” he warned.

He stressed the urgent need for a national conversation around waste generation and disposal. According to the MP, even a modest reduction in plastic usage could yield significant benefits in the battle against flooding.

“If this country can reduce our reliance on plastics by just five years—by about 30 to 40% %—then we would be making some headway in dealing with this issue,” he noted.

Mr Adjei-Mensah Korsah also raised concerns about the financial implications of reckless waste disposal, pointing out that resources meant for long-term infrastructure projects such as GARID were being diverted to manage recurring sanitation challenges.

“If we don’t tackle that reckless disposal of waste, which is becoming a real problem, it will continue to take a real chunk of the money meant for fixing national, permanent situations,” he cautioned.