Aftermath of Rain Disaster- 45 Houses to go down

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AN inter-ministerial committee has been formed by the government to identify and demolish all buildings and illegal structures on watercourses to prevent a recurrence of last Friday’s floodsin Accra that claimed seven lives.
The inter-ministerial task force includes representatives of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Roads and Highways (Urban Roads) and the Ministry of the Interior and officials from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council and personnel from the security agencies.
They have up to Friday to submit their report.
It is estimated that more than 45 buildings will be affected.
In August 2007, after a similar disaster in which five people were killed by floods in the western part of Accra, 25 buildings were marked for demolition by NADMO but after three of them had been pulled down, owners of the affected properties sought a court injunction to stop the exercise.
It has been on hold since then but this time the agencies charged with the job have indicated their preparedness to go all the way and demolish all the buildings and illegal structures found to have been constructed on watercourses.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey, who disclosed this after a visit by the leadership of the various authorities to the affected areas and victims of the floods, said after taking inventory of all structures on watercourses, the task force would identify those that had building permits and those that did not have before taking action.
“We will determine whether the Town and Country Planning Department (TCPD) gave them permits to build. If they are covered by permits, we will negotiate with them, but if they are not, we will have to do what is right to save the rest of the members of the community from such disasters,” he said.
In addition to the demolition exercise, the AMA has been charged to clear all silted gutters in the metropolis and make sure that all kiosks and illegal structures along the streets are removed.
Commenting on the corrective measures, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Joe Gidisu, said work on that part of the Kaneshie road where the bitumen was washed away by the rain would be completed for free flow of traffic by today.
He blamed officials of the TCPD who, he said, had not been honest to the country by allowing houses to be built on watercourses.
The Deputy Minister for Local Government, Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, said, “Henceforth, every law that has to do with development will be enforced. We have to do what is right and we will apply the law to the fullest.”
The Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Hanna Louisa Bisiw, also criticised the issuance of illegal permits by officials of the TCPD.
“Each illegal permit is equal to a life lost. We have to be very responsible to our country,” she said, and described the behaviour of those involved as unpatriotic, considering the amount of money the government had spent to decongest the capital and other flood-prone areas.
The National Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Kofi Portuphy, said as of yesterday trucks were loading relief items for distribution to victims and noted that NADMO had set up camps in the affected areas where the items would be distributed, with assistance from the leadership of the various assemblies.
He disclosed that a medical team would visit the affected areas to check any possible outbreak of water-borne diseases.
The Chief Executive of the AMA, Mr Alfred Vanderpiuje, during the tour, warned all victims who were reconstructing their structures along the drains to halt the practice because they were going to be pulled down.
He also said people who parked their vehicles on the road would be prevented from doing so to ease traffic, particularly on the Mallam-Kaneshie highway.
The Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Rose Bio-Atinga, said the police, for their part, would provide security for all affected victims who, she urged, should feel free to contact the police in case of any complaint.