Technocrats at assemblies are to be blamed for floods in the country – Ing. Mahama
Technocrats at the various Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies are to be blamed for the floods in various parts of the country as a result of shirking their responsibility and not being able to stand on their grounds, Ing. Abdulai Mahama, a Road, and Building consultant has said.
‘The physical planning officers, engineers, the works committee who approves building and structures at the assemblies who have the power to make things work at the assemblies are shirking their responsibilities and that is a major contributor to floods in the country’ he reiterated.
Speaking to Kwaku Aboagye Apenteng on Freedom Radio’s ‘Yen Man’ show on the recent flooding being witnessed in most parts of the regional capitals across the country, he stated that the blame should go to them because they give permission to people to build in swampy and undesignated areas.
Indicating that naturally, some areas are there to serve specific purposes like the valley, swampy areas, however, all those lands have been bought by rich people in the society, and waterways have been blocked therefore when it rains the water has to divert to where human settlements are.
He noted that flooding is gradually graduating and consuming the country, citing an example that when he was schooling at Koforidua Senior High Technical School (SECTECH) from the period 1996 to 1998 there was no flooding in Koforidua, ‘but now the town is witnessing flooding each and every year’ he stated.
Ing. Abdulai said under the land Use and Spatial Planning Act 2016 empower land officers, that is the assembly, that without notification to the developer, they should alter, abate, remove or demolish a structure when that structure is considered as a nuisance to the environment or the public.
However, that has not been done, indicating that the law is powerful and gives a lot of power to the assemblies to act ‘but they don’t do it’ he quizzed.
He indicated that the engineers and planning officers are very powerful but because of political expediency, the Chief Executives who are not in line with the technocrats, have them transferred due to them standing their grounds against buildings being structured at unapproved areas.
In his view, the right things must be done because when development is catching up with the people and the necessary measures are not taken, then the whole country suffers the consequences.
He encouraged the assemblies to be up and doing, stand on their grounds and disallow development at some sensitive areas of the country to help maintain some areas in the country, however, failure to do so then the country in the next five years will witness a bad environmental crisis.
Source: Kwame Akoto/ freedomradiogh.com
