A local governance expert has placed the bulk of the blame for Accra’s recurring flooding on political interference and land mismanagement by traditional leaders, saying district assemblies are being prevented from doing their jobs by forces outside the law.
Richard Fiadmor, Director of the Chamber of Local Governance, made the assessment in an interview on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Friday as floodwaters from the Weija Dam spillage continued to affect communities across Accra West.
Ghana Water Limited opened all spill gates on 27 May 2026 after water levels at the Weija Dam exceeded 48 feet, the maximum safe operating level, as a precautionary measure to protect the structural integrity of the facility. Hundreds of homes were submerged in parts of Weija, leaving many residents displaced and stranded.
Fiadmor distributed responsibility across three groups. “I will give local government authorities about 30 percent of the blame, 40 percent to political interference and the rest to citizens who refuse to obey the law,” he said. District assemblies, he argued, have the technical capacity to manage development properly but are routinely blocked from acting on it.
He also called out the role of some traditional leaders. “There are cases where chiefs sell lands they know are reserved for drainage or environmental protection,” he said, a claim consistent with calls from the Ga Mantse this week for the arrest and prosecution of chiefs selling land in waterways.
On citizens, Fiadmor said many deliberately bypass permit processes and only seek approval after construction has begun, then claim legal ownership when structures are demolished.
He acknowledged that corruption within some assemblies further complicates enforcement, with officials allegedly accepting payments to overlook unauthorised developments.
“If the bylaws of the assemblies are flouted, decentralisation will be defeated,” Fiadmor warned, stressing that Ghana’s entire decentralisation system depends on local laws being taken seriously.
The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) dismissed claims that residents were not warned before the spillage, with the Greater Accra Regional Director saying communities along the dam’s banks were notified as water levels approached the danger threshold.
Fiadmor called for offenders including those who build in waterways and chiefs who sell protected land to be prosecuted after structures are demolished. “The assembly alone cannot solve the problem,” he said. “We need full cooperation from citizens, traditional authorities and political actors.”
