Commentary

South Africa Floods: Cue for Ghana

By Cynthia Boateng

South Africa suffered the worst flooding in the country’s history about a week ago. Reports say almost 500 people were killed in the disaster and more than 300 were reported missing. President, Cyril Ramaphosa, in a televised speech to the nation, announced a state of national emergency on Sunday 17the April 2022. KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape were the most affected. More than 8,000 homes, most of which are in the Coastal City of Durban and its surrounding areas have been damaged. President Ramaphosa says he has been trying to manage the unfortunate situation by providing relief items and initiating the rebuilding of the affected areas bearing in mind the need for people to have access to basic necessities, such as potable water, food, shelter and electricity.

The current situation in South Africa is not alien to Ghana. Ghana on June 3 2015 witnessed a twin disaster where flood and fire killed more than 126 people in Accra. The rains have started and the obvious question one would ask is what measures are being implemented in Ghana to prevent a natural disaster of such magnitude? Recently, the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council headed by the Regional Minister, Henry Quartey started what they called OPERATION CLEAN YOUR FRONTAGE. The idea is simply to ensure that the drains are free of rubbish so that flooding does not occur. But the operation will yield no results if Ghanaians continue with their lackadaisical attitude by throwing rubbish in the drains. Imagine a country where some citizens wait for the rains to dispose of their home-generated refuse.

We will not be in any situation different from what South Africans are currently going through if our mindset regarding sanitation has not changed. These are not the only worrying problems. About a year ago, the Greater Accra Regional Director of the Ghana Highway Authority described the annual mud sliding at Weija in Accra near the Kasoa toll booth as a disaster waiting to happen. TheDaily Graphic reported officials as saying that even though frequent desilting of the drains each time it rained had become expensive,and worrying, it was not the major problem. The major issue is that the whole place can slide onto the road if nothing is urgently done to halt developments and improve the greenery in that area. Uncontrolled development on the hill has cleared the vegetation cover which hitherto allowed the water to flow freely into drains.

Residents still endure this challenge. Also on the Aburi Hills, the current situation is that boulders between houses above and the road below are held from falling by giant metallic mesh, a project which is reported to have cost the nation GHC11 million in 2016, when the falling rocks posed danger to motorists. Why should the authorities look on for houses and hotels to be developed on the hills when they are likely to cause a disaster. The rains have started and we have been warned of more rains in the days ahead.

Although landslides, volcanoes, earthquakes, and heavy rainfall cannot be avoided, safety precautions and efficient land management can help mitigate the devastating effects of these natural disasters. The current situation in South Africa is unfortunate and indeed a very sad one as a life lost is one too many. It is however a wake-up call for Ghana to put her house in order because our situation will be worse if we fail to take the necessary precautions ahead of time.