Govt to check floods in northern Ghana (spread)

THE government has commissioned a study to develop flood early warning systems (FEWS) for the three northern regions following recent floods that affected lives and properties in that part of the country.


To that effect, the Hydrological Services Department (HSD) is collaborating with the Water Resources Commission (WRC) to make good use of flood models developed by HKV Consultants of The Netherlands for FEWS.

With real-time data input from the HSD and the Ghana Meteorological Agency, the system will help forecast floods in the White Volta Basin to avert disaster in the three northern regions.

The Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Enoch T. Mensah, made this known when he took his turn to address the meet-the-press series in Accra yesterday.

The minister also announced a number of water projects and rehabilitation works being executed in parts of the country.

Among the projects, some of which he indicated had seen a lot of progress, were the Kumasi Water Project, the Essakyir Water Project and the Asante Mampong Water Supply Project.

While the Teshie Desalination Water Project, a 13-million-gallon-per-day treatment plant, is expected to be completed in two years and estimated to serve some 500,000 people, other projects expected to improve water supply in the country are the Nsawam Water Supply Project in the Eastern Region, the Bolgatanga Water Supply System, the Kpong Water Supply Expansion Project, the Wa Water Project and the Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area Water Supply Project.

Mr Mensah discredited claims that the Sogakope-Lome Trans-Boundary Water Supply would be of benefit to only Togo, explaining that “all towns and villages along the pipe route in Ghana will be supplied with potable water. Some of the beneficiary communities include Denu, Agbozume and Aflao”.

He said increased human settlements, urbanisation, poor agricultural practices and uncontrolled logging and mining activities in the country meant that most of the country’s water bodies, which used to be perennial, were drying up.

But to effectively address the problem, the minister said the WRC had developed a Riparian Buffer Zone Policy with the view to conserving and preserving the country’s water bodies.

He said increased galamsey operations had led to the tripling of the cost of water treatment in areas where galamsey was prevalent.

On the housing sector, Mr Mensah said the ministry was collaborating with the Ghana Housing Finance Association to have a condominium law passed.

That, he stated, had become necessary in view of the increased demand for the development of high-rise properties and their implications for shared ownership of common areas.

He said the ministry had also set up a committee with the objective of re-activating the Affordable Housing Programme initiated by the Kufuor administration to ensure that the initial investment in the project was not wasted.

The mandate of the committee is to, among other aims, identify the issues that led to the discontinuation of the project, determine the extent of work done at the various sites and also revalue the housing units and determine the mode of allocation.

Additionally, it would also determine the current value of outstanding works and how much it would cost to complete the project, he said.

Currently, Ghana’s housing deficit stands at 1.7 million, with a projected 150,000 housing units needed over the next 20 years to improve the situation.

To address the growing demand for decent housing, Mr Mensah said the government had identified housing as a critical factor in tackling poverty and social stabilisation.

In that regard, he said the government was embarking on a programme to create an enabling environment for the private sector to build housing units over the next five years through a public/private partnership.

He said while the country’s Building Regulations and Development Code would be revised to conform to international best practices, the Rent Control Department would also be reviewed to promote social harmony in the housing sector and also make the sector attractive to investors.