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The aftermath of the June 3, 2015 flood and fire disaster at the Circle GOIL filling station in Accra
The aftermath of the June 3, 2015 flood and fire disaster at the Circle GOIL filling station in Accra

June 3, 2015 flood, fire disaster - have we learnt lessons?

I do not intend to remind the country of that ‘Black Wednesday’, June 3, 2015, when a dark cloud eclipsed the soul of the nation.

Neither do I want to deliberately prick the wounds of those who went through hell fire on earth; not because of their sins, but because the state failed to give them the protection they deserved.

There was gnashing of teeth and wailing on the evening of that fateful day, as some citizens suffered the double agony of a flood and fire disaster.

They had gone out to win bread for their families and to serve the country in various capacities and were returning home.

A heavy downpour forced them to seek shelter at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, but little did they know that disaster loomed.

Eye-witnesses said the entire Kwame Nkrumah Circle enclave was inundated with flood water. And as some members of the public were battling to survive the floodwaters, there was fire outbreak from a nearby Goil fuel station, that had its fuel dump leaking the flammable material atop the flood waters.

The rest belongs to history.

But when the losses were counted, at least 159 souls perished; hundreds of others suffered life-threatening injuries, while properties running into millions of Ghana cedis were consumed.

Scar

June 3, marks the fifth anniversary of this gory incident. I know that these fallen compatriots will be turning in perpetual anguish in disappointment of a country that had failed to protect them.

They will be telling the story of how poor drainage system, inefficient waste management, weak enforcement of sanitation laws, disorderly built environment and ‘stubborn citizens’ ganged up to send them to an early grave.

The nerve-racking accounts given by the survivors of these twin disasters will remain indelible on the minds of everyone. Some of them are still battling for their lives till this day, while others have lost their sources of livelihood.

For others, such as 34-year-old Alex Mensah, popularly known as ‘Mr Lee’, although they have recovered from the burns they suffered on June 3, 2015, he has been disfigured so much that his children now call him “Kaikai.”

Five years on, what lessons have we learnt?

For the last four years, events have been held to mark the day - Ghana is good at that; journalists have recounted the events of the day and brought survivors of the disaster to tell their stories.

Politicians have organised events to give flowery speeches, mostly echoing the catch phrase "never again shall this happen."

The five-member committee chaired by a retired High Court Judge, Mr Justice Isaac Dotse, that investigated the disaster attributed the flood to blockages in Accra’s main storm drains, resulting from not clearing the drains as well as the building of settlements and habitation of squatters on the storm drains.

To prevent future flood, the committee recommended the complete dredging of the Odaw drain, a ban on the use of plastics as carrier bags, water dispensers and cooked food containers.

Can we beat our chest and tell our fallen compatriots that "yes, it is unfortunate that you have had to pay the price for the negligence of the nation to protect you, but we have put in place effective systems to prevent a recurrence of such a disaster?"

Some interventions

The Ministry of Works and Housing (MWH) has been engaged in the construction of storm drains and periodic clearing of drains to allow for the free flow of water.

The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) is also leading the implementation of the government's sanitation policies aimed at ridding the country of filth and making Accra, the cleanest city in Africa.

Additionally, through the World Bank-funded Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) Sanitation and Water Project (GAMA- SWP) a number of drains have been constructed

However, only last Saturday, May 30, three hours of rainfall saw some parts of Accra, inundated with flood water.

Still in the woods

The Registrar of the Engineering Council, Mr Wise Ametepe, is worried that five years after the June 3 disaster, some key recommendations have not been carried out.

The hydrologist, who was part of the five-member investigative committee on the disaster, said although a lot of planning had been done on how to develop a robust drainage infrastructure for the country, implementation of those plans was weak.

“We have plans that will ensure the incorporation of silt traps into water channels which will be responsible for the trapping of silt to maintain the capacity of the channels; but we have not seen it being done yet," he said.

He added that it was disturbing that after five years of that disaster, Accra still had no proper waste management systems in place, particularly, engineered landfill sites for waste disposal.

Again, he said, although the committee recommended the removal of unauthorised structures from waterways as a measure to improve the flow of water and prevent flooding, not much had been done.

"I know that some of the structures in waterways have been pulled down but there are still hundreds of such structures springing up every day; meanwhile, the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) which have the responsibility of ensuring that people do not build in waterways are not cracking the whip," he said.

The Coordinator of the GAMA project, Mr George Asiedu, attributed the flooding situation in Accra to poor development planning and lack of a holistic approach to find practical solutions to drainage challenges.

He said although the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in charge of drainage infrastructure and sanitation had done their bit to tackle flooding, the approaches had been piecemeal.

"Under the GAMA project, we identified flood-prone areas such as Mallam Junction and Kaneshie First Light and constructed huge drains there so the flooding in those areas have stopped; and this is good.But when it rained heavily on Saturday, May 30, this year, Kasoa STC area was terribly flooded. What this means is that once you fix the problem somewhere, it surfaces in another area," he said.

Action

The only way we can appease the victims of the June 3, 2015 flood and fire disaster is for the stakeholders to collaborate and deal decisively with the root cause of flooding in Accra and other parts of the country.

The MMDAs in particular, have a huge role to play by enforcing the laws that prevent people from building in waterways.

The MMDAs should be strict and ensure that due diligence is done before permits are issued to people to put up their structures.

There is the need for enhanced collaboration between the Works and Housing ministry and the MMDAs to ensure that while the former puts in place drainage infrastructure, the latter enforces by-laws to prevent people from indiscriminately dumping waste into the drains.

There is also the need for enhanced public education for people to have positive attitude towards waste management and avoid dumping refuse into gutters and drains.

A victim of June 3, 2015 flood and fire disaster admitted at the hospital

Writer’s email: [email protected]

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