Desilting Odaw Won’t Stop Accra Floods — Prof. Oteng‑Ababio Says Approach Is Fundamentally Flawed

Board Chairman of the Forest Plantation Development Fund, Prof. Martin Oteng‑Ababio, has cast doubt on the long‑standing practice of desilting the Odaw River, arguing that it is not a sustainable solution to Accra’s perennial flooding.

For decades, successive governments have invested heavily in dredging sections of the Odaw around Circle, hoping to reduce the capital’s recurring floods. But Prof. Oteng‑Ababio says the strategy tackles symptoms, not causes.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s Face to Face with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Tuesday, May 26, he stated bluntly:

“The desilting of the Odaw River is not an antidote to the flooding situation in Accra. It’s a wrong approach because we need to get to the source of what is happening upstream.”

He explained that the real problem begins in the hills, where fast‑moving water carries heavy sediment downstream. When the flow reaches flatter areas of the Odaw basin, the sediment settles, causing rapid siltation that reduces the river’s capacity.

To address this, he urged government to acquire strategic upstream lands to construct retention ponds or pumping systems that slow the flow of water before it reaches the city.

Prof. Oteng‑Ababio also pushed back against the widely held belief that poor waste management is the primary cause of flooding in Accra.

According to him, waste becomes a major issue only when it mixes with silt, forming blockages in drains and gutters.

“The speed at which the water is coming will carry the waste away. It only becomes a problem when we have a lot of silt coming from the top and it mixes with the waste, then it chokes the gutter,” he explained.

He attributed Ghana’s persistent flooding challenges to a lack of political will, arguing that authorities have failed to implement long‑term, science‑based solutions.

---CitiNewsRoom