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Ga East Assembly supports Taifa flood victims

The Ga East Municipal Assembly through its National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) Directorate has presented relief items to flood victims at Taifa Oboohene Down after the heavy downpour.

Date Created : 9/6/2019 8:37:32 AM : Story Author : Okunyin Orlan-Hackman/Andrew Tagoe/Ghanadistricts.com

It would be recalled that, the nation’s capital was hit with heavy rainfall on Sunday, resulting in flooding in some parts of Accra.

The Ga East Municipality was not spared the effects of the downpour as parts of Taifa, particularly, Oboohene Down, being one of the most affected areas. Many residents of the area were displaced from their homes and properties destroyed. Fortunately, no casualties were recorded.

Following distress calls Sunday night, a team from the Assembly, led by the Presiding Member (PM), Jesse Nii Noi Anum, acting on behalf of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dome-Kwabenya Constituency, Sarah Adwoa Safo, and the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Janet Tulasi Mensah, early on Monday inspected the flood situation across the municipality.

At Taifa Oboohene, the severely hit area, the team observed that poor, unplanned and uncontrolled development in the vicinity and the narrowness of the unengineered main drain were the main factors that resulted in flooding of the area.

Affected households were busily gathering their valuables into pockets of open spaces around in efforts to salvage some.

The team interacted with some of the affected households and, with the support of NADMO officials, took records of persons who were affected.

One of the victims, who gave his name as Agyapong, recounted their horrific experiences with floods in the area and appealed to the Assembly to crack the whip, even if it will cost him losing his property.

"I've lived here for 15 years and we didn't face this problem but recently people have developed around and encroached on the waterway and this is what is resulting in flooding in the area whenever it rains. Another major cause is the bridge at the railway crossing. s a lot of things. Whatever needs to be done must be done by the authorities to address this situation, even if it affects my building, I'm prepared to cooperate", he passionately appealed.

The Presiding Member again on Tuesday led a team of NADMO and Assembly officials to present some relief items including bags of rice, cartons of cooking oil, and boxes of bottled water as the first step in addressing their survival, with the promise of blankets and others to follow in due course.

Hon. on behalf of the MP for Dome-Kwabenya Constituency, Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo and the MCE, Hon. Janet Tulasi Mensah conveyed their message of commiseration to the victims and reiterated the support of the MP and Assembly for them in the most unfortunate and difficult situation they found themselves in.

"Hon. MP and Hon. MCE are aware of your plights and that's why they have delegated us to come here and inspect your situation and give these items to you as the first step towards resolving your issues. We know this is not enough but please accept it and we promise to do more than this", Hon. PM remarked.

He further noted that a report from the inspection on Monday will be submitted to Management and the MP for the necessary action to be taken.

"When we came here for inspection, the peopl admitted things have gone wrong and that they were prepared to cooperate with the Assembly to find lasting solution to the flooding situation. My Hon. MCE asked me to inform the people that the Assembly was going to demolish all structures found to be in waterways in the area and that's the way to go", Hon. Nii Noi disclosed.

The Assembly Member for Taifa North, Hon. Patience Ofosuhene Okrah, thanked the Assembly for the kind gesture and called for the construction of a storm drain in the area to help curb the flooding situation in the area.

"We are grateful to the Assembly for the quick response to our urgent need. Immediately after realizing the gravity of the situation, they have come to our aid and we hope they will continue to do so to help ease our burden", she stated.

She continued, ‘I am hereby pleading with the Assembly to construct a storm drain in this area, just like President Kuffour did at Alajo, to help curb the perennial flooding that occurs here whenever it rains.

Ama Kessewa, a resident of the area, who was displaced as a result of the flood, thanked the Assembly for the relief items presented and echoed the words of her Assembly Member, calling for the construction of a drain to help address flooding in the area.