Ghana needs national sanitation policy; two-day clean-up won't end flooding crisis — Osahen Afenyo-Markin

Minority Leader Osahen Alexander Afenyo-Markin

Minority Leader Osahen Alexander Afenyo-Markin has urged the government to adopt a comprehensive national sanitation policy, arguing that the recently announced two-day nationwide clean-up exercise is inadequate to address Ghana's persistent flooding and sanitation challenges.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, July 14, Osahen Afenyo-Markin said although community clean-up exercises play an important role in restoring flood-affected areas, they should not be viewed as a lasting solution to the country's recurring flooding problems.

He noted that the devastating floods that struck parts of Accra and other communities on June 29 exposed the urgent need for a coordinated strategy focused on sanitation, effective drainage management and flood prevention.

The Minority Leader recalled that during Parliament's deliberations on the disaster, the Minister for the Interior had assured the House that the government would introduce a comprehensive policy to address the perennial flooding situation and its root causes.

Quoting the Minister's earlier assurance, Osahen Afenyo-Markin said the government must move beyond short-term interventions.

"The Minister for the Interior made a statement on this flood situation indicating that government will come with a comprehensive policy on this flood situation and how to address it. Mr. Speaker, I submit that it is not enough to declare two days for the purpose of clean-up," he stated.

He maintained that while clean-up exercises are necessary, they do not tackle the structural causes of flooding.

"The clean-up exercise is not the solution. The solution is a well-thought-out policy on sanitation. That is what we need as a country and it is becoming too late in the day," he emphasised.

Mr. Afenyo-Markin further stressed that any government committed to resolving the country's flooding crisis must prioritise a comprehensive sanitation policy.

"Any government determined to solve a problem of the magnitude of which we saw will, without delay, announce a national policy on sanitation," he said.