President Mahama chairs National Security Council meeting on floods
President John Dramani Mahama has chaired a National Security Council meeting on the recent floods that affected seven regions of the country.
The meeting, held on Wednesday received briefings from the Post-Flood Mitigation Task Force and its subcommittees on measures taken so far to address the disaster.
Addressing the meeting, President Mahama said the meeting had become necessary in the aftermath of floods that affected many of the southern coastal areas of the country.
“It has become a recurring incident, but this particular incident was far worse than many of the previous ones we have experienced, partly due to the effects of climate change,” he said.
He said the country was increasingly witnessing heavier rainfall patterns every year, which required a review and strengthening of existing mitigation measures.
Beyond climate change, the president said the pressures of urbanisation were also contributing to the challenge, with Accra expanding at a rapid rate and the growing demand for land resulting in encroachment on areas originally reserved for the passage and containment of water.
President Mahama said Government had asked the Ghana Armed Forces to get involved in flood mitigation efforts, while NADMO and other relevant agencies remained actively involved in providing relief and distributing assistance to affected communities.
He stated the measures taken so far were being reviewed, alongside an assessment of additional interventions to be implemented going forward.
He mentioned that prior to the floods, Government had already established a task force to undertake preventive measures, which carried out limited dredging of waterways.
“The task force carried out some limited dredging of waterways, but the volume of rainfall experienced during this period was beyond what could be contained,” he said.
President Mahama said the Minister of Finance had released funds from the contingency fund to support the mitigation measures to be undertaken going forward.
“While we may not be able to completely eliminate flooding because it is a natural disaster that occurs in many parts of the world, we can take steps to reduce its impact and prevent it from becoming as devastating as what we have witnessed,” he said.
He noted that other countries, from Gabon to Côte d’Ivoire, had also experienced flooding and loss of lives during the same period, with some recording even higher levels of impact.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
