Prof. Martin Oteng-Ababio, Board Chairman of the Forest Plantation Development Fund, has questioned the effectiveness of desilting the Odaw River as a permanent solution to Accra’s recurring flooding problem.
For several years, governments have carried out dredging and desilting exercises along sections of the Odaw River, particularly around Circle, in attempts to reduce floods in the capital.
Speaking in an interview on Channel One TV’s Face to Face programme with Umaru Sanda Amadu, Prof. Oteng-Ababio argued that the approach fails to address the real causes of flooding.
“The desilting of the Odaw River is not an antidote to the flooding situation in Accra. It’s a wrong approach because we need to get to the source of what is happening upstream,” he said.
According to him, government should instead focus on acquiring land in key upstream areas to build retention ponds or pumping systems capable of slowing the movement of water from the hills into the Odaw basin.
He explained that the rapid flow of water carries large quantities of sediment downstream, which later settles in flatter sections of the river and leads to silt accumulation.
Prof. Oteng-Ababio also rejected claims that poor waste disposal is the main cause of flooding in Accra.
He stated that waste becomes a major problem only when it combines with heavy silt deposits and blocks drainage systems.
“The speed at which the water is coming will carry the waste away. It only becomes a problem when we have a lot of silt coming from the top and it mixes with the waste, then it chokes the gutter,” he explained.
The environmental expert further blamed Ghana’s persistent flooding challenges on what he described as a lack of political will to implement long-term solutions.
