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Ofankor barrier floods: Residents, traders laud MCE for addressing situation

Residents and traders at the Ofankor barrier roundabout in the Ga-North Municipal Assembly have praised Mr Simons Sekyim, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), for addressing the perennial flooding situation in the area.

Date Created : 7/11/2023 12:00:00 AM : Story Author : Eric Appah Marfo/Ghanadistricts.com

They said having fixed the problem, they would be able to go about their businesses with little or no worries even when it rained.

Until recently, the Ofankor barrier roundabout was flooded for days anytime it rained, with pedestrians using the section with difficulties - stepping on pavement blocks placed in the floodwaters.

The situation affected the smooth movement of vehicles.

Mr. Kwadwo Kwakye, a trader in wrist watches, said on many occasions, pedestrians lost their footing whilst crossing the road and fell into the water.

He said the stagnant water also became a breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies.

Mr. Kwakye thanked the MCE for a job well done and urged Ghanaians to support the Government to address sanitation problems, which often caused flooding.

Two female traders who pleaded anonymity, lamented how on many occasions, speeding vehicles splashed water on them as they drove off.

“The stagnant water also gave off a bad smell and bred mosquitoes. Quite recently, I had malaria and was admitted to a hospital,” one trader said.

Another trader asked that something be done about the leftover sand deposited on the road, which produced dust anytime vehicles drove off.

Mr. Simons Sekyim, the MCE, said the inspections carried out at the site revealed that a structure had been built on the waterway, which prevented free flow of water.

“We noticed an absence of a maintenance access point on the 250m length of 1.2 double cell pipe culvert. The double cell pipe culvert was silted up to full capacity and the culvert had not been desilted since it was constructed over 15 years ago,” he added.

He said the structure on the waterway had now been demolished and the outfall desilted.

Mr. Sekyim said with financial assistance from the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID), they had now constructed four maintenance and access chambers.

“Last year, GARID supported us with GHC80,000 and about GHC200,000 this year for the deep desilting and the creation of an additional drainage system in the near future to support existing ones.”

“Currently, the double cell pipe culvert is being desilted, meanwhile the drainage water has been diverted on to the carriage way to enable them work underground,” he said.

The MCE said desilting of one cell of the pipe culvert had been completed and that the pool of water on the road had now been diverted back to the cell.

He said the second cell was about 50 per cent desilted, adding that hopefully, it would be completed by the middle of the month.

Mr. Sekyim said the interventions would drastically reduce the flooding issue and called for a re-engineering of the Ofankor barrier roundabout to include more drainage systems and expansion of existing ones.

He warned against the indiscriminate dumping of refuse, especially when it rained and advised Ghanaians to desist from such bad habits.