The Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE) has once again drawn national attention to a challenge that Ghanaians live with every rainy season but often address only after disaster strikes, flooding.
This time, however, the warning is more fundamental. The Institution is not merely speaking about blocked drains or poor maintenance.
It is calling for a complete overhaul of Ghana’s stormwater management policies, arguing that the country’s existing drainage systems are no longer capable of coping with rapid urbanisation, climate variability and increasing flood risks.
The Ghanaian Times finds this intervention timely, necessary and, frankly, overdue.
For years, flooding in Accra and other urban centres has been treated as an unfortunate seasonal inconvenience.
Roads are submerged, homes are destroyed, businesses are disrupted, and lives are lost. Yet, once the waters recede, the conversation fades, only to return with the next heavy downpour.
What the GhIE has rightly pointed out is that this cycle is not accidental. It is structural.
The current drainage systems were largely designed around a centralised philosophy, move water quickly away from urban areas and discharge it downstream.
That approach may have been adequate decades ago when cities were less dense and natural drainage paths were largely intact.
Today, however, that system is under severe strain.
Rapid urban expansion has replaced open land with concrete and asphalt.
Natural infiltration areas have been lost. Waste management challenges have turned many drains into dumping grounds.
And crucial drainage systems such as those serving the Odaw and Korle Lagoon are increasingly overwhelmed. The result is predictable: water has nowhere to go.
Even more concerning is the GhIE’s observation that flooding is now occurring even during periods of relatively low rainfall.
This suggests that Ghana’s challenge is no longer just about rainfall intensity or climate change, but about systemic failure in planning, design and coordination.
This is where the Institution’s call for reform becomes particularly important.
The proposal to shift towards decentralised, nature-based stormwater management systems is not only scientifically sound but globally proven.
Systems such as permeable pavements, rain gardens, bioswales, green roofs and rainwater harvesting are no longer experimental ideas; they are standard practice in modern resilient cities.
Yet, Ghana continues to rely heavily on outdated infrastructure and fragmented institutional arrangements.
The GhIE has also correctly identified a key weakness, institutional fragmentation.
When responsibility for drainage is spread across multiple agencies that do not always coordinate effectively, and when administrative boundaries do not reflect natural drainage basins, inefficiency becomes inevitable.
It is therefore not surprising that flooding persists despite repeated investments in drainage projects.
The Ghanaian Times is of the view that this is the moment for decisive national action.
First, government must urgently develop and implement a comprehensive National Stormwater Management Policy that reflects current urban realities and future climate risks. Piecemeal interventions will no longer suffice.
Second, land use planning and enforcement must be strengthened.
It is unacceptable that waterways and buffer zones continue to be encroached upon with limited consequence. Laws must be enforced consistently and without fear or favour.
Third, investment must shift towards modern, resilient and decentralised drainage infrastructure.
This is not a luxury. It is essential infrastructure for protecting lives, property and economic activity.
Fourth, public behaviour must change. No drainage system, however modern, will function effectively if it is continuously clogged with solid waste. Civic responsibility is part of the solution.
Finally, coordination among state institutions must be improved. Flood management is not the responsibility of one agency; it is a shared national duty requiring alignment between planning authorities, local government, environmental agencies and water resource managers.
The cost of inaction is already visible in damaged homes, disrupted livelihoods and recurring emergency responses that drain public resources year after year.
The Ghanaian Times is therefore adding its voice to the GhIE’s call: the time for incremental fixes is over.
Ghana needs bold, coordinated and forward-looking reform of its stormwater management systems.
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