Hon Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka
Asawase
Mr Speaker, there have been reported cases of floods since the rains set in in May this year, leading to fatalities and rescues in some communities.
The hydro-meteorological disasters such as floods, windstorms, dam spillage and tidal waves have become recurrent phenomena that happen every year across the country, causing loss of life, livelihood, property, and social distortion with high financial implications.
Mr Speaker, three types of floods occur in Ghana. Pluvial floods or flash floods occur mostly in urban settlements when the intensity of rainfall exceeds the infiltration capacity. Then we have the fluvial floods or river floods which occur when high rainfall causes high water levels in the river and leads to overflow of its banks. Then the last one is the coastal flood which occurs along the 550-kilometre coastline of Ghana, induced by high tides and stormy seas.
Mr Speaker, the identified floodprone areas in Ghana are settlements along the water bodies and urban areas such as Accra, Kumasi, Tema, Tamale, Cape Coast, and Sekondi Takoradi. The flood, in most of these areas, can be attributed to a poor drainage system and human activities.
Mr Speaker, climate change is one of the major causes of floods that has heightened disaster risks across the globe and an underlying trigger of hydrometeorological disasters, including flooding. The change in weather patterns and the drastic rise in the volume of flood levels have revealed a wide range of weaknesses in the disaster preparedness and emergency response system in Ghana and exposed the vulnerability of the population living along the river basins, major drains and coastal lines. As part of measures to address the recent flooding incident, the National Disaster Management Organisation, (NADMO) has as of March 2025, activated the Flood Contingency Plan to put the country in readiness for the heavy rains forecasted by the Ghana Meteorological Agency.
The contingency plans involve, one, the preparedness phase where all the Disaster Management Committees at the national, regional, metropolitan, municipal, and district levels, together with the Disaster Volunteer Group, initiate the following activities:
(a) Embark on massive dredging and desilting of water basins and drains in their communities;
(b) Restoration of water basins and drains through excavation and demolition;
(c) Identification of safe haven, evacuation routes, and reinforcement of search and rescue units;
(d) Testing of equipment operational by the operation units;
(e) Activation and strict monitoring of early warning systems;
(f) Public sensitisation, capacity building for resilience;
(g) Propositioning of resources.
Mr Speaker, the response phase is when the flooding has occurred and the operational unit, together with partner agencies, engaged in the disaster by:
(a) Conducting search and rescue operations;
(b) Cleaning of blocked waterways and drains; (c) Evacuation of victims to safe havens;
(d) Provision of care and relief to victims;
(e) Coordination of resources for impact relief;
(f) Management of the safe haven until all victims are able to return to their homes.
Mr Speaker, the third phase is the recovery phase. This entails the restoration of services in the short term and resettlement, restoration of livelihood and the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure in the mediumterm post-disaster period.
Mr Speaker, NADMO partner agencies such as the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), the Ghana Hydrological Authority (GHA), Ghana Police Service (GPS), National Ambulance, and the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMA) to carry out its exercise. The Contingency Plan serves as a measure put in place by Government, spearheaded by NADMO, to prevent flooding and minimise its impact in the event that it occurs. It also saves lives and property as well as provides relief with focus on the vulnerable such as women, children, physically challenged, and the elderly.
Mr Speaker, the Ghana National Fire Service has also taken initiative to carry out public education on flood safety, flood risk and emergency contact on social media and through community outreach activities. The service has also conducted flood risk assessment in all the 16 regions of Ghana National Fire Service’s Regional Command. The assessment cited 86 fuel and gas stations nationwide identified as flood-prone. The risk assessment findings have been shared with NADMO for proactive measures.
Mr Speaker, despite the measures put in place to prevent or mitigate incidents of flooding nationwide, bureaucratic bottlenecks that delay funding for procurement and deployment of assets, limited financial resources that suffer implementation of contingency plans, poor road network and inaccessible disaster sites, inadequate skilled staff to ensure effective coordination, lack of tool and skilled labour to create a reliable and centralised database for credible information, communication network failure, and poor internet access during emergency, inadequate fire tender; the few are currently performing market patrol duties. And lastly, insufficient equipment like fair water pumps to pump out water from homes, hospitals, schools, among others during flooding, ladders, life jackets, ropes and lines, and harnesses to carry out 24-hour patrols in flood-prone areas.
Mr Speaker, the state of affairs in NADMO; the challenges are enormous and like we said, since March 2025, we have put in measures to make sure that we procure the necessary equipment and logistics to stuff the warehouses of NADMO so that we will be able to deal with these disasters when they occur.
Unfortunately, because of challenges, we are currently in talks with the Minister of Finance to release the needed funds to enable NADMO to effectively implement its contingency plan. Additionally, the Ministry is collaborating with development partners and private sector partners to help resource the relevant agencies. The Ghana National Fire Service Regional Commands have collaborated with MMDAs for monthly cleanup of drains and gutters in their respective locations.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion, NADMO and all relevant agencies need to be urgently resourced to provide the needed services during these emergencies.
Mr Speaker, thank you.
Hon Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh
Ahafo Ano North
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, I am happy the two Ministers are here; both the Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resource and the Minister for the Interior. Mr Speaker, first of all, I want to talk about the availability of funds to NADMO and other operational duties.
Mr Speaker, this House passed a law of 3 per cent Common Fund to be given to NADMO for its operational duties. And with this, I am not talking for only one government, all successive governments, the availability of funds to National Disaster Management Organisation is a big problem. For the 3 per cent, sometimes in the whole year, NADMO will not receive a penny — So, that is the money that is paid to the District Assembly — Yes, 3 per cent of the total amount to the District Assembly Common Fund must go to NADMO. And sometimes, NADMO does not receive even a penny in the whole year. That is a sort of worry.
When there is a disaster, NADMO must lead as a coordinating agency to coordinate all agencies to do search and rescue, need assessments, among other things. But in the process of doing need assessment and search and rescue, NADMO must move there with relief items, among other things. But here we are, I do not know whether the Minister is here to talk about it. You can go to NADMO now and it is possible there will be no relief items at the warehouse. Sometimes, all governments wait until there is a disaster before the Ministry of Finance will release money for NADMO to buy relief items. So, at the time they move in to do the search, rescue and needs assessment, what would they send to the people? That becomes a problem.
So, Mr Speaker, I think the Government should look at providing financial support to NADMO now. The rains are not done with us yet; we are in June, and in July, the rains will continue. Today, with the climate change adaptation, one cannot even determine whether it is only in June and July that we will experience rains. Like the Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources was saying, I think we must do a lot of dredging. By August or September, the Société Nationale d'électricité du Burkina Faso (SONABEL) authority in Burkina Faso will spill the Bagre Dam and that comes with a lot of issues. Mr Speaker, areas like Yagaba Kubori, Kpasenkpe among other areas around the Pwalugu Dam will experience heavy flooding.
Mr Speaker, by this time, we should have dredged there. So, Government should find money for the Ministry of Works, Housing and Water Resources to start dredging those places before the Bagre Dam spillage is also done. Mr Speaker, the district assemblies, the development authorities and the physical development authorities at the various assemblies must crack the whip. It is time we empowered the district assemblies to make sure the approval processes of buildings in the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) are looked at. People are building everywhere, filling waterways, building fuel filling stations, and other things. That is part of the cause—[An Hon Member: When you were in office what did you do?] When I was in office, I did something. She should not say when I was in office— :
Mr Speaker, we have one country called Ghana— When somebody was in office and he does something, when another person comes, he should continue. Mr Speaker, we are talking about disaster management. When disaster strikes, it does not know anyone’s political background, tribe or religion; it knows about each person as a Ghanaian. Disaster does not do politics or tribalism, therefore, let us look at solving our disaster problem with no political eyes. We should not say when we were in office, what did we do? We did something, but we must continue. That is what I am talking about. Nobody knows when disaster will befall a person. We are talking about tidal waves and most affected areas are in the Volta Region which is a National Democratic Congress (NDC) stronghold. We all believe that the people of the Volta Region are also Ghanaians, therefore, we must find solutions to the tidal wave situation in the Volta Region. So, we should not bring politics into such debates.
Mr Speaker, NADMO needs funds. We must find money for NADMO to get relief items and a lot of equipment that they need to work. When the previous government assumed responsibility, NADMO had no vehicle that was less than 10 years, but the previous government bought 65 new pick-up trucks for NADMO. Today, there is a new Government, let us continue to add up. We did not complain but bought some, so they should continue.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Let us look at the problems we have as a country. We have a lot of problems when it comes to disaster management in this country. Successive governments have done a lot and we must continue it as a nation, that is what I stand for. But now, the appeal I want to make is that the Minister for the Interior should lead the Director-General of NADMO to get funds from the Ministry of Finance to stock the warehouse of NADMO. This is so that when it is time for them to move in to do search and rescue, and needs assessment, they will not be found wanting. Also, I want to make an appeal to the Government to help the Ministry of Works, Housing and Water Resources to start desilting areas around Pwalugu Dam, the Yagaba-Kubori and Kpasenkpe. Because I know for a fact that this year, from August to September, the SONABEL authority of Burkina Faso will spill the Bagre Dam and it will bring another problem.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
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