Flood relief package should have gone into desilting — Titus Glover slams reactive measures

Former Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Kwartei Titus Glover, has criticised President John Dramani Mahama over the government’s response to the recent flooding in Accra, describing the approach as misplaced and reactive.

His comments follow Monday’s heavy rains, which caused severe flooding across parts of the capital and other communities.

The Minister for the Interior, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, has disclosed that more than 38,000 people were displaced, 12 died and seven others remain missing.

The government has since announced the release of GHS300 million as part of an emergency response package to address the situation.

Speaking on Accra-based Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on Wednesday, July 1, Titus Glover questioned the timing and use of the funds.

The former MP argued that earlier investment in desilting and dredging could have reduced the impact of the floods.

"I want to blame the president for one or two reasons. This money that he said should be given to the victims, If this money has been released to the Ministry of Works and Housing, they should have used it for dredging and desilting these drains instead of waiting for the disaster," he noted.

He argued that poor maintenance of major drains such as the Odaw and others contributed significantly to the scale of destruction witnessed during the rains.

Titus Glover further asserted that while rainfall intensity may have been high, the extent of damage could have been minimised with proper planning and investment in drainage infrastructure.

"You could have minimized the extent of the damage. When you go around places like Odaw and other major drains, you see heaps of sand and silt that have blocked the waterways. That is what is causing most of these floods," said the NPP stalwart m

He also dismissed arguments that flooding was unavoidable even with improved infrastructure, stressing that proactive maintenance remains critical in reducing disasters of such magnitude.