The Flood Mitigation Task force has kicked off a nationwide operation in Accra involving dredging, desilting and the demolition of structures blocking drains, as part of a push to curb flooding in the capital.
The exercise is being spearheaded by Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations), Stan Xoese Dogbe, and Works, Housing and Water Resources Minister, Kenneth Adjei. They are working with Task Force Coordinator, Brigadier General Forster Okae-Yeboah.
Support is also coming from Deputy Chief of Staff at Army Headquarters Major General Annan Glover and Engineer Brigade Commander Brigadier General Richard Kinny.
The operation targets buildings sitting on waterways, weak bridges restricting flow and drains, dams and channels choked with silt.
Phase one started in New England, behind Airport Hills and Mayfair Garden Estates, before moving to the Tesa Dam in East Legon and Oyarifa. At Tesa Dam, off Boundary Road in East Legon, the team pulled down buildings erected along the dam’s banks. Officials said encroachment had narrowed the waterway. Developers had also put up illegal retaining walls, while waste dumping and settlements around the dam led to heavy siltation, cutting the reservoir’s capacity and raising flood risk. Before demolition began, Lt. Col. Frank Osei Amponsah of the 48 Engineer Regiment addressed affected residents. He said the goal was to restore the watercourse and reduce flooding and urged cooperation.
Residents were allowed to take out their belongings first. Right after the structures came down, dredging of the Tesa Dam began. The dam serves as a retention basin for stormwater. Clearing the silt is expected to restore its storage capacity and improve drainage for the Motorway, East Legon and nearby areas. Brigadier General Okae-Yeboah explained the impact of the encroachment: “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 added that the work won’t stop at demolition: “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.”
The Works and Housing Minister, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, said President John Mahama has ordered desilting to become a year-round activity. “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 Tesa Dam operation followed similar actions on Thursday, July 23 in Oyarifa and around Mayfair Gardens. In Oyarifa, apartments built directly over a natural watercourse were pulled down after developers diverted the channel. Near Mayfair Estates, a concrete-reinforced bridge blocking a waterway was removed, with dredging now underway. More encroaching structures are set to be taken down. Authorities say the nationwide exercise is aimed at restoring waterways, improving storm drainage, and preventing a repeat of the recent floods that hit several communities in Greater Accra.Phase two will focus on Weija, Mallam, and Laboma.
