Climate experts blame Accra’s recurring floods on weak planning, governance gaps       

By Kizito CUDJOE

Fresh flooding in Accra and other parts of the country has exposed deep weaknesses in the country’s flood management strategy, with climate experts warning that poor land-use planning, weak enforcement of regulations and aging infrastructure are leaving communities increasingly vulnerable despite years of public investment.

The warning comes as recurring floods continue to disrupt businesses, damage property and displace residents – raising fresh questions about whether major flood-control and climate resilience programmes are delivering the protection they are intended to provide.

Experts say the challenge is no longer simply a matter of funding. Rather, they point to how resources are deployed, the pace of project implementation and ability of institutions to translate investment into lasting protection for communities on the frontlines of climate change.

Speaking at the Environmental Sustainability Summit (ESS) in Accra, Dr. Michael Addaney – a climate governance and land-use planning expert at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) – said many interventions remain heavily focused on infrastructure procurement while giving insufficient attention to community resilience.

“Climate change affects everyone, but it affects people differently depending on their access to resources, awareness and preparedness,” he said.

According to him, many flood mitigation projects are designed through top-down approaches that often fail to reflect the experiences and needs of communities most exposed to climate risks.

He argued that local populations should play a greater role in shaping adaptation strategies, saying solutions are more likely to succeed when they emerge from the realities of affected communities rather than being imposed from above.

Dr. Addaney also identified what he described as a disconnect between land-use planning and flood-risk management.

Ghana has enacted laws, including the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act and Environmental Protection Act, that provide strong legal tools for regulating development in flood-prone areas, he said. Yet weak enforcement and political interference continue to undermine their effectiveness.

“The challenge is not an absence of laws. The challenge is enforcement,” he said.

He further cited procurement delays, contractor default and weak technical supervision as factors slowing the completion of critical flood-control projects.

“The lesson is not that money is insufficient,” he said. “Finance without institutional capacity, technical support and community involvement will not deliver the durable solutions needed to make communities resilient.”

His remarks come as the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project, one of the country’s flagship flood-risk reduction initiatives, remains under implementation.

Executive Director-Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) Mrs. Pearl Esua-Mensah said the programme should not be regarded as a failure, but acknowledged that limited public visibility of completed works has contributed to scepticism about its impact.

“GARID is still in progress,” she said. “The challenge is that there is no clear way for citizens to objectively track what has been completed and what remains outstanding.”

She noted that while substantial resources have been committed to long-term mitigation projects, comparatively less attention has been paid to adaptation measures which can provide immediate relief to communities already facing climate-related risks.

“Flooding is happening now, while many of the major infrastructure projects are still under construction,” she said. “The people affected remain exposed and there is very little financing reaching them directly to help them adapt.”

According to her, the country has largely established the framework for addressing climate risks but is yet to ensure resources and interventions reach vulnerable communities quickly enough to produce visible results.

Adding to the concerns, Dr. Glenn Gyimah, General Manager for Green Transition-Jospong Group, said much of the country’s drainage and flood-control infrastructure was built decades ago and never designed to cope with the intensity of rainfall being experienced today.

“The infrastructure we rely on today was developed under very different circumstances,” he said. “Climate resilience was not integrated into many of those systems.”

He warned that increasingly intense rainfall linked to climate change is exposing weaknesses in existing infrastructure and placing additional pressure on urban drainage systems.

Beyond physical infrastructure, Dr. Gyimah said governance failures continue to magnify flood risks. “If governance systems do not prioritise actions that reduce climate vulnerability, we will continue to experience these challenges,” he said.

While climate change remains an unavoidable driver of extreme weather events, he argued that stronger governance, better planning and targetted financing could significantly reduce the damage caused by floods.

He said future investments must focus not only on expanding infrastructure but also strengthening existing systems to withstand increasingly severe weather conditions.

Held under the theme ‘Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future’, this year’s Environmental Sustainability Summit brought together policymakers, climate experts, development partners and private-sector actors to discuss pathways for strengthening Ghana’s climate resilience and mobilising green investment.

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