Flood Mitigation Task Force begins phased dredging, demolition exercise across Accra
The Flood Mitigation Task Force has commenced a phased dredging, desilting and demolition exercise across flood-prone communities in Accra to restore waterways, improve stormwater drainage and reduce the risk of flooding.
The exercise, led by the Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations), Stan Xoese Dogbe, and the Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, forms part of government’s response to the recent floods that affected several communities in the Greater Accra Region.
Also participating in the operation are the Coordinator of the Flood Mitigation Task Force, Brigadier General Forster Okae-Yeboah, the Deputy Chief of Staff at the Army Headquarters, Major General Annan Glover, and the Commander of the Engineer Brigade, Brigadier General Richard Kinny.
The first phase of the exercise began at New England, behind Airport Hills and Mayfair Garden Estates, before moving to the Tesa Dam in East Legon and Oyarifa, where excavators and personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces were deployed to remove illegal structures, dredge waterways and clear heavily silted drains.
At the Tesa Dam, adjacent to Boundary Road in East Legon, the task force demolished unauthorised structures erected along the banks of the dam after encroachment narrowed the natural waterway and reduced the reservoir’s flood retention capacity.
The operation also targeted illegal retaining walls and other structures constructed by developers, while accumulated plastic waste and years of indiscriminate dumping by squatters were identified as major causes of the heavy siltation of the dam and its drainage channels.
Before the demolition commenced, the Commanding Officer of the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Osei Amponsah, addressed residents affected by the exercise, explaining that the operation was intended to restore the waterway and reduce flooding. He urged residents to cooperate with the task force and allowed occupants time to remove their belongings before the demolitions began.
Following the demolition, the task force immediately commenced dredging the Tesa Dam to remove heavy silt deposits and restore its storage capacity. The dam serves as a retention basin that temporarily stores stormwater during heavy rainfall before releasing it gradually into the drainage network.
Speaking to journalists, Brigadier General Forster Okae-Yeboah attributed persistent flooding in the area to illegal developments that had obstructed natural drainage channels.
“The problem is that because people have built in this area, the channel has been narrowed. Water is therefore not able to flow freely to the holding area downstream, where it is supposed to be collected. Since the channel is blocked, the area cannot take in enough water. The water backs up, causing the surrounding communities to flood,” he said.
He said the exercise would not end with the demolition of structures but would include clearing debris, dredging waterways and establishing protected buffer zones to prevent future encroachment.
“After the demolition, we are going to clear the debris, dredge the area, and create a buffer zone where people will no longer be allowed to build. We will also ask the assemblies to monitor the area so that whenever anyone attempts to encroach on it, immediate action is taken,” Brigadier General Okae-Yeboah added.
The Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, said President John Dramani Mahama had directed that desilting and dredging of drains should become a continuous nationwide exercise.
“The President has directed that this should be an ongoing exercise. So, you are not just seeing us here today and that will be the end of it. After the demolitions, we will continue dredging throughout the year so that whenever it rains, the water will have enough space to collect. It will be a year-round exercise. The President has directed that we ensure the kind of flooding we recently experienced is not repeated in our communities,” the Minister said.
The Tesa Dam operation follows similar enforcement exercises undertaken by the task force in Oyarifa and around Mayfair Garden Estates.
In Oyarifa, the task force demolished structures after developers constructed apartment blocks directly across a natural waterway and diverted the channel, disrupting the area’s drainage system.
At Mayfair Garden Estates, officials removed a reinforced concrete bridge built across a natural watercourse and commenced dredging works to restore the channel’s carrying capacity. Additional structures found to have encroached on the waterway are expected to be demolished.
According to the task force, the first phase of the operation seeks to restore identified waterways, drains and flood retention structures in New England, Tesa Dam and Oyarifa before moving to the second phase, which will cover Weija, Mallam and the Laboma area.
Government says the nationwide exercise is aimed at restoring the integrity of waterways, improving stormwater drainage systems and preventing a recurrence of the flooding that recently affected communities across the Greater Accra Region.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
