MP Blames Floods on Indiscriminate Waste Dumping and Poor Infrastructure

The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Anyaa Sowutuom Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, Honourable Emmanuel Tobbico, has described Monday’s heavy rainfall as a national disaster, praying to the Almighty God to intervene and save the adversely affected residents.

The Member of Parliament made this statement while speaking to journalists during a visit to residents affected by floodwaters after the heavy downpour on Monday, June 29, 2026.

Accompanied by the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the MP visited the hardest-hit areas, including Santa Maria, Sowutuom, and Awoshie.

According to him, after visiting affected residents and communities within the constituency following the flood disaster on Monday, June 29, 2026, he realized the causes were man-made

The MP stated that the flooding occurred due to the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in open spaces, gutters, and drains, as well as the improper design of buildings, gutters, and road culverts.

He stated that citizens have not been disciplined enough, often pouring huge amounts of waste materials into the gutters.

Another problem identified was the inability of traditional landowners, leaders, and engineers to assist the central government in the fight against poor environmental sanitation.

The MP stressed, “Our engineers who design our roads sometimes construct gutters, drains, and culverts that are too small to contain the volume of floodwaters.”

He observed that engineers often wait for a disaster to occur before deciding to demolish buildings constructed on waterways, a situation he said was not the best approach.

According to the MP, it is high time engineers took a second look at how they design roads, gutters, and culverts for road construction in Accra.”We need to discipline ourselves and make sure we do not pour waste materials into our gutters and drains,” the MP cautioned.

He emphasized the need for road and building engineers to carefully plan road designs to include larger gutters and drains to prevent future flooding disasters in the constituency.

He added that during road construction, the Ga Central Municipal Assembly must ensure that land developers are immediately stopped if they build on waterways, regardless of their status in society.He assured affected residents that they would receive relief items from him, stating he would not abandon them to their fate.

According to the MP, during his tour of areas such as Awoshie, Santa Maria, and Sowutuom, he realized thousands of residents were displaced by the floodwaters.

He expressed his condolences to them for losing valuable properties worth millions of Ghana cedis.

He promised to continue his visits to other communities to assess the extent of the damage to properties affected by the floods.

Author: Yeovil Koryekpor Awlesu