Weak urban planning fuelling perennial flooding in Ghana — Elvis Darko 

Managing News Editor of Newscaneta Newspaper, Elvis Darko, has attributed Ghana's recurring flooding problem largely to poor physical planning and unregulated urban development.

According to him, the persistent flooding experienced in many parts of the country during the rainy season is not merely the result of poor sanitation but a consequence of failures in settlement planning and infrastructure development.

Several communities across Ghana continue to experience flooding whenever heavy rains occur, leading to displacement of residents and destruction of property.

"Our physical planning is the biggest problem. Why are we having flooding in all the new communities that are springing up around Accra? How many of them have well laid-out gutters?" he questioned while speaking on Accra-based Channel One TV's Breakfast Daily programme on Monday, June 15.

Mr. Darko noted that many newly developed communities lack proper drainage systems, road networks and utility planning, making them highly vulnerable to flooding.

He argued that authorities often allow people to build in areas that have not been properly demarcated or serviced with the necessary infrastructure.

According to him, in well-planned communities, drainage systems and other public utilities are constructed before residents begin putting up buildings, a practice he believes is largely absent in many parts of Ghana.

The journalist also questioned the effectiveness of some drainage projects, suggesting that many are too small to handle the volume of water generated during heavy rainfall.

"So, if we continue in this way, where physical planning is done anyhow, there's no way we can stop flooding. In any serious system, a new settlement needs to be properly demarcated, where the drainages will go through," he stated.

He explained that poorly planned settlements often make waste collection difficult, forcing residents to dispose of refuse indiscriminately, which eventually worsens drainage challenges.