By Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr Nii Moi Thompson, has stated that weak enforcement by local authorities and institutional failures within Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) are the primary drivers of Accra’s perennial flooding crisis.
Speaking in an interview, Dr Thompson expressed deep frustration over the early June 2026 floods that once again paralysed Ghana’s capital.
He emphasised that the devastation was completely avoidable. “The painful truth is that these floods should never have happened,” Dr Thompson remarked.
“The impact would have been far less if we had implemented the comprehensive drainage and infrastructure plans we developed and documented as far back as 2017.”
According to Dr Thompson, local assemblies have routinely compromised spatial planning and building regulations, allowing unauthorised developers to build directly inside waterways and critical wetlands.
He revealed deep-seated institutional weaknesses, sharing a personal account in which his own attempts to report illegal encroachment to a Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) and a sector minister were met with foot-dragging and bureaucratic leaks.
According to him, instead of swift demolition by the assembly, his identity was compromised and passed directly to encroachers.
Dr Thompson noted that while citizens share blame for improper waste disposal, “indiscipline goes both ways”. The local government structures legally empowered to protect public space have failed to make wrongdoing costly.
The NDPC Chairman further warned that Greater Accra has become a victim of its own economic dominance.
While the region occupies just 1.4% of Ghana’s total land area, it holds the largest share of the national population, generates 38% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and attracts roughly 86% of all Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
This immense spatial concentration creates a “perfect storm”, where rapid, concrete-heavy urban growth severely outpaces the city’s drainage capacity.
To break the cycle of seasonal disaster, Dr Thompson called on MMDAs to stop chasing ceremonial performance awards and prioritise practical local safety solutions.
He urged the state to strictly enforce existing building codes, remove obstacles from floodplains, and implement structural policy reforms mapped out nearly a decade ago.
With the Ghana Meteorological Agency warning that heavy seasonal rains will persist through June 2026, experts agree that without a radical shift in local administrative accountability, Accra will remain vulnerable to flooding.
