It happened again on Monday.
After hours of heavy rain, Accra became a city of rivers.
Major roads were submerged. Vehicles were swept away.
Shops and homes took in water.
Commuters were stranded for hours, some wading throuh filthy floodwater up to their waist.
Businesses suffered. Families lost property, and tragically, 12 lives have again been reported lost.
We have run out of words for “unprecedented”.
The floods are now regular.
They are annual, predictable, and devastating.
Monday’s downpour was heavy, but it was not extraordinary for June.
What is extraordinary is that in 2026, our capital still collapses every time the clouds gather.
Accra’s geography does not help.
The city is low-lying, with many natural waterways.
But geography is not destiny.
The floods today are largely human-made.
President John Dramani Mahama has directed the immediate release of GH¢300 million from the Contingency Fund to support flood relief and mitigation, after Monday’s rains brought Accra and parts of southern Ghana to a standstill. Roads became rivers.
Homes were submerged. Twelve precious lives and also livelihoods were lost.
The President’s swift release of funds is welcome.
But relief cannot be our only plan. Ghanaians are asking a harder question, one that has followed every flood for years: “Why, after hundreds of millions of dollars spent on floods, are we still drowning?”
That question deserves an honest answer.
The concern raised by many Ghanaians is valid.
Successive governments have announced flood projects, loans, and dredging contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Yet, Accra floods after a few hours of rain. Why?
First, we have built on water. Natural waterways, wetlands, and Ramsar sites have been reduced to plots.
When concrete replaces soil, water has nowhere to go except into homes.
Second, our drains are refuse dumps. Sachets, plastics, and solid waste block channels.
The rain does not cause the blockage. We do.
Third, enforcement is seasonal. Bulldozers appear after floods and disappear after the cameras leave.
Unauthorised structures stay standing until the next tragedy.
Fourth, drainage has not matched urban growth. Accra’s population and paved surfaces have exploded, but stormwater infrastructure has not kept up.
Climate change is also delivering heavier, shorter downpours. Spending money is not the same as solving the problem.
Until we confront these root causes, GH¢300 million will be the next in a long line of emergency releases.
Floods are an economic issue. Monday’s rains shut down commerce in the capital. Hours were lost in traffic. Goods were destroyed.
Wages were lost. Investor confidence suffers when the capital cannot function in the rain. If we invested consistently in drainage and enforcement, we would save more than we spend on relief.
This is also a moral issue. We cannot ask citizens to “be responsible” while the state tolerates illegal building and weak enforcement.
And the state cannot keep enforcing only after disaster.
There must be a year-round enforcement and not seasonal demolition.
The metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) must map and clear all structures on waterways now.
Buildings on waterways and wetlands must be removed before the next rain, not after lives are lost. Officials who approved such structures must be investigated.
There can be no sacred cows if we are serious about saving lives.
Local assemblies must also be empowered and held accountable.
Unauthorised development should be stopped at the foundation stage, not when the house is painted and occupied.
The cost of early enforcement is far less than the cost of post-flood relief.
We must protect the wetlands, and fix the drains.
Accra will see rain again.
That is certain. Whether Accra drowns again is a choice.
This is not a partisan issue. Floods do not ask for your party card before entering your home.
The solution therefore requires all hands: government, MMDAs, traditional authorities, civil society, the media, churches, mosques, schools, and households.
Let Monday’s floods be the last time we say, “We spent money, but nothing changed.
Let the GH¢300 million be the start of a Ghana that stays dry, works in the rain, and protects its people.
