Member of Parliament (MP) for Ketu South, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has called on residents to speak out against illegal developments, particularly the construction of buildings on waterways, to help address recurring flooding in the municipality.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after touring flood-affected communities in the area, the MP attributed part of the devastation caused by recent floods to human activities, including encroachment on wetlands and drainage channels.

“Some of the challenges we are facing are due to human behaviour. People build in waterways, and these decisions end up affecting the entire communities,” she said.

Madam Gomashie stressed that although natural factors such as climate change and heavy rainfall could not be controlled, irresponsible human actions continued to aggravate the flooding situation.

She urged community members to speak up whenever they observed activities that threatened the environment, emphasising the need for collective responsibility in addressing the challenge.

“We must learn to speak up when we see something wrong. If we allow people to block waterways, it will eventually affect everyone,” she stated.

The MP noted that indiscipline in some communities had contributed significantly to recurring floods and called for a change in public attitudes towards environmental management.

She explained that resources earmarked for development projects were often redirected to emergency response and relief efforts because of preventable disasters, thereby slowing down development.

Madam Gomashie urged residents to place the collective interest of the community above individual gains, stressing that responsible citizenship remained essential in reducing the impact of flooding.

She reaffirmed her commitment to supporting affected communities while advocating long-term measures to address the environmental and structural challenges contributing to flooding in the municipality.