Government is fully committed to ensuring that the disaster of June 3, 2015 does not repeat itself, the Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has assured.
According to him, this is the reason the Akufo-Addo administration has since of that national disaster been frequently dredging and desilting drains in especially flood-prone areas of Accra.
The works and housing minister gave this assurance when he embarked on an inspection of various dredging sites at the Odaw Lagoon in Accra yesterday.
He intimated that the exercise – which is the third phase of dredging the lagoon – is to ensure the safety of Ghanaian lives, especially as the rains will set in soon.
He further said government’s commitment is evident in the regular dredging of drains to allow free-flow of water into the sea without a repeat of any disaster.
The tour also enabled the minister to have first-hand information on dredging works done so far on the lagoon.
Corroborating what the minister said, the Operations Manager of Dredge Masters Limited (DML) – a subsidiary of Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL), Mr. Sena Kofi Adiepena, also assured that his outfit is working assiduously to prevent floods this year.
He said this explains why his company is undertaking the third phase of dredging the lagoon.
Speaking to journalists at the dredging site near the Korle Lagoon, the DML operations manager indicated that with the extent of dredging work done on the lagoon, it is unlikely the Odaw will flood this year.
Though he expressed satisfaction with work done so far, he bemoaned the continuous stay of squatters around the lagoon’s banks.
This situation, he said, poses serious challenges to the dredging works of DML.
“While we are working on the lagoon… by the time we return to the various sites, squatters have dumped refuse into the lagoon again. This is having a seriously negative impact on our work,” Mr. Adiepena lamented.
“This is why we are appealing to the Housing Ministry to relocate the squatters,” he appealed.
According to him, the ongoing work is at 60%, and therefore expected to be completed within 45 days.
“The third phase of dredging is to ensure that all deposits from the activities of squatters are removed from the Odaw to ensure proper management of the lagoon; and also to facilitate the flow of water through the lagoon into the sea without sediment from refuse being dumped into the lagoon by squatters,” he explained.
Mr. Adiepena recounted that the first dredging works began from 2015 to 2019, which was later extended to help scoop out deposits of refuse in the lagoon and allow water to flow swiftly into the sea.
