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Ghana Hydrological Authority to crack whip on encroachers

The Ghana Hydrological Authority says it will be resolute in strictly enforcing the laws by demolishing any structure or development done along major drains in the country.

Giving the warning, the Chairman of the Authority’s Governing Board, Mr Kwasi Anim, added that, “We really have to start to bite, the law has to bite, otherwise people will continue with the impunity.”

Mr Anim expressed these sentiments on Tuesday when he led a delegation made up of the board members to inspect ongoing drain projects at St Peter, Anaji  and Kwesimintsim, near Takoradi, in  the Western Region.

The team observed at  the Kwesiminstim main drain site  that a  private developer had encroached  on the statutory buffer zone  with the erection of fence wall.

Mr Anim described the developer’s action as a huge drain on national  investment, and firmly said, “that wall  cannot stand; it’s  coming down.”

He further said “The Act gives Ghana Hydrological Authority the mandate to  actually demolish properties. Even if you have spent a lot of money in the investment, we have the power to do that. And we’re going to start to enforce the law.”

Mr Anim said Ghana’s problem  was   not about  the laws in the books,  but with  its enforcement and mentioned that  citizens   needed  to realise that the country was just wasting money  and  resources, which is unhelpful.

He expressed particular concerns about the said property, which, he noted, was  just about a  month  old and wondered whether any law-abiding person would  block the main Kwesimintsim drain, a national  asset.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Authority, Dr  John Kissi, told journalists it would  be  absolutely difficult to mobilise machinery  to  the site,  reiterating  that  “this wall  would need to go.”

He explained that all structures need  to stay at least 50 metres clear  from the channel.

He appealed to the residents of the area to assist the government by protecting its   investment in

infrastructure. 

Dr Kissi said the Kwesiminstim corridors used to be waterlogged and water always overflowed the banks of the drain.

He noted that the environment had dried up but said he was worried that buildings  were springing up in the area.

He continued that “We need to appeal to the local authority to stop granting planning approval or planning permit for construction of projects so close to the channel, river bodies. Just behind us is a wall that is so close to the drain. If we need to undertake any maintenance work, it becomes a challenge.”

Dr Kissi said the government, since 2017, had  remained committed to  addressing the challenge of flood risks by investing in the National Flood Control Programme, with about GHc250 million invested in  2018, GHc 200million in  2020, GHC 90 million in 2023, and GHC 250 million being worked on.

He indicated that the Kwesimintsim drain was part of the priority projects and mentioned that the Takoradi Airport, was another area where  aeroplanes  could not  land or take off during heavy rains, and  presenting negative  economic implications  for the airlines.

The Regional Director of the Authority, Mr Isaac Wuttoh, recalled that the Kwesimintsim drain project was started by the community  and later they followed  up with a petition concerning the dire plight  of  water running into their  homes.

He told journalists that so far, engineers working  in phases had done about  300 metres of stretch of the drain and also one kilometer of excavations  out of the four-kilometre stretch, which starts from the SSNIT Flats area and enters the  ocean.

FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, KWESIMINTSIM

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