Accra Is Sinking Yet Again — Time to Be Truthful With Ourselves

Earlier, I shared a World Cup‑related video showing how beautifully the Ghana national anthem was received at the stadium in downtown Boston, USA. With the benefit of hindsight, however, I must admit that it was ill‑timed and inappropriate for football banter.

The reality is that, as we speak, Accra is under deluge. Accra is sinking. Accra is drowning under a natural phenomenon made far worse by decades of man‑made irresponsibility and negligence. I therefore offer my sincere personal apology for that earlier indiscretion.

The still pictures and videos circulating paint a familiar picture: a situation that has once again overwhelmed the state. The Ghanaian government is, as expected, struggling to exert any meaningful control over a disaster significantly worsened by human actions.

The agency mandated to provide emergency relief to tens—if not hundreds—of thousands of affected citizens is NADMO. Sadly, the organisation lacks almost everything required to make a meaningful impact. This has been the case for far too long. NADMO does not have adequate funding, personnel, vehicles, lifesaving equipment, experience or technical expertise to respond effectively to disasters of this magnitude.

Ghana, as has often been the case since independence, appears to have just enough money for huge public expenditure on salaries, luxury vehicles, official residences, generous benefits for politicians and senior public officials, and even overseas medical trips. Our governments have also found money for many unnecessary and expensive ventures characterised by wasteful spending over the years.

For a government that, while in opposition, pledged to control expenditure and ensure value for money, I was encouraged when my President reiterated at the Dominion Centre in London that his government would not sponsor Ghanaians to travel to North America simply to watch World Cup football. It was therefore deeply disappointing when Manasseh Azure Awuni revealed that many Ghanaian football enthusiasts had indeed been sponsored with public funds.

Admittedly, the amount spent on sponsoring football spectators alone would not have prevented the devastating floods in Accra. However, it symbolises a deeper national problem: our persistent culture of unnecessary and wasteful extravagance.

Why should the state pay for people to travel abroad for religious pilgrimages, whether to worship God or perform Hajj? Likewise, why should taxpayers fund allowances for people to travel overseas simply to watch football? Watching football abroad is not a national duty, just as religious pilgrimages are personal obligations—not state responsibilities.

A national conversation on our spending priorities is long overdue.

Ghana remains an enigma—a country where the state often appears not to be fully in control. Even today, political rivals continue to argue over missing state funds. We hear about the alleged untraceable GH¢60 billion involving commercial banks and the Bank of Ghana, alongside unresolved controversies surrounding the Pwalugu Dam project, PDS, AMERI, Kelni GVG, the National Cathedral expenditure, and many others. Then there are reports of loans secured for road construction that have been exhausted while many of the roads remain incomplete or do not exist at all.

Why should these matters still be subjects of endless political debate? A competent financial audit should easily establish the trail of public expenditure. If, for example, US$250 million was allocated to construct a 100‑kilometre road, yet only part of the project has been completed and the money has been exhausted, every official involved in approving, supervising and paying for that project is still within the jurisdiction—except perhaps Ken Ofori‑Atta.

After more than a year in office, why is this government still unable to provide Ghanaians with clear and definitive answers regarding these missing public funds?

Fellow Ghanaians, it is time we abandoned sycophancy. Let us stop hero‑worshipping politicians who, in many cases, do the bare minimum yet expect endless praise. We must be honest with ourselves and hold those entrusted with public office accountable. Only then can we begin to realise meaningful progress and genuine national development.

Back in 2019, I proposed the procurement of temporary shelters—portable cabins, commonly known in the UK as Portacabins. These prefabricated modular buildings can be easily transported, assembled and relocated.

I made this proposal to senior members of the NDC as a practical solution to overcrowding in senior high school boarding facilities at the time. I further suggested that, once permanent accommodation became available, these Portacabins could be dismantled and transferred to NADMO for use as emergency shelters during disasters such as the one we are witnessing today. Well, better late than never. Purchase Portacabins from abroad or get our industries to produce them in Ghana, and let NADMO have them for future emergency use.

I communicated this proposal via email, so the recipients cannot claim they never received it.

At a time when climate‑related emergencies are becoming more frequent across the world, and when many countries are investing in preparedness and resilience, Ghana must also begin planning seriously for the future. It is a matter of national survival.

Let us stop wasting scarce public resources on unnecessary ventures, including avoidable foreign travel, and instead invest in practical measures that protect lives and strengthen our country’s ability to respond to emergencies.

The time to act is now.

   Comments0