Former Adentan MP Kojo Adu Asare has accused local assemblies of managing communities through stop work notices rather than proper planning, saying Ghana lacks the will to fix flooding.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme, Adu Asare said Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies focus mainly on issuing notices to developers instead of drawing up comprehensive plans for communities. “All the assemblies know is to issue stop work notices,” he said, adding that the country already understands what needs to be done but consistently fails to act.
He said citizens’ own habits and weak leadership at the assembly level share the blame for the recurring flooding, and argued that leadership should not be treated as a responsibility limited to national government. He said it also belongs in homes, churches and communities, rather than being concentrated at the top.
Adu Asare said people who push for enforcement of planning rules are often painted as the problem, adding that this has allowed indiscipline to persist for years. He argued that money released for flood recovery would not fix the underlying issue unless it was tied to a long term development plan rather than spent without direction.
His comments come as government has declared July 10 and 11 as National General Cleaning Days in seven flood hit regions, with President Mahama saying the administration is reviewing existing flood mitigation measures following the June 29 disaster that killed about 13 people.
