“Rain, rain, go away, come again another day.”
This nursery rhyme from our early years poignantly hit us on Monday, as we were brutally reminded about the consequences of environmental violations.
The torrential rains that swept through the country have once again left behind a trail of death, destruction and despair.
Lives have been lost, families have been displaced, homes and businesses submerged, vehicles swept away, and property worth millions of cedis destroyed.
For many residents of Accra, this has become an annual ritual: the clouds gather, the heavens open, drains overflow, roads become rivers, and the nation counts its dead.
Yet the floods are not acts of fate alone.
While no country can prevent heavy rainfall, a well-planned city can prevent rainfall from becoming a humanitarian catastrophe.
Accra's perennial floods are largely man-made disasters, born of decades of poor planning, weak enforcement of the law, environmental neglect and public indiscipline.
Across the capital, drains have become refuse dumps. Plastic bags, bottles, food containers, discarded furniture and construction waste are routinely thrown into gutters and watercourses.
During heavy rains, these materials choke drainage channels, preventing the free flow of water and causing drains to overflow into homes and streets.
This behaviour is not simply irresponsible; it is unlawful. Ghana has environmental sanitation laws and local assembly bye-laws prohibiting indiscriminate dumping of refuse.
Unfortunately, enforcement has been sporadic and penalties often insignificant.
Until citizens appreciate that environmental offences endanger human life, this culture of impunity will continue.
Another major contributor is the illegal construction of buildings on watercourses and wetlands.
Natural drainage channels that once carried stormwater safely to the sea have become blocked by unauthorised developments.
Rivers have been narrowed, wetlands reclaimed, and floodplains occupied by residential and commercial buildings.
The result is predictable.
Water will always seek its natural course.
When humans obstruct it, nature eventually reclaims its path, often with devastating consequences.
Rapid urbanisation has compounded the problem.
Accra has grown far beyond what its original infrastructure was designed to accommodate.
Population growth has increased pressure on housing, transportation, sanitation and drainage systems.
Roads have expanded, but drainage infrastructure has often lagged.
Vast areas have been covered with concrete and asphalt, leaving little open ground to absorb rainwater.
Consequently, enormous volumes of runoff accumulate within a short period, overwhelming existing drains.
Climate change has also intensified rainfall events.
Meteorologists increasingly warn that storms are becoming heavier and more frequent.
This means that infrastructure designed decades ago may no longer be adequate.
Climate resilience must therefore become an integral part of urban planning rather than an afterthought.
The solutions require both political courage and civic responsibility.
With Accra bursting at the seams and the inexorable and relentless frequency of rain patterns, largely due to avoidable human behaviour, we need urgent and practical solutions that will withstand the test of time.
Firstly, there must be strict enforcement of environmental laws.
Environmental offences should no longer be treated as minor infractions but as conduct that places entire communities at risk.
Secondly, all buildings on watercourses should be demolished.
Thirdly, the drainage infrastructure requires significant investment.
Existing drains must be widened, cleared and properly maintained throughout the year.
Fourthly, waste management must be modernised.
Regular refuse collection, increased recycling, adequate public bins and efficient landfill management would significantly reduce indiscriminate dumping.
Public education campaigns should reinforce the simple truth that every plastic bottle thrown into a drain could contribute to a flood that destroys someone’s home or even cost a life.
Fifthly, planning authorities must strictly enforce building regulations.
Development permits should never be granted for flood-prone areas or natural watercourses.
Existing planning laws must be applied consistently irrespective of political influence or economic status.
Finally, every Ghanaian has a personal responsibility.
Environmental stewardship begins with individual choices.
Keeping drains clean, disposing of waste responsibly, participating in community clean-ups and reporting environmental violations are civic duties that protect lives as much as they protect property.
The images from this latest disaster should stir the national conscience.
Every avoidable flood death is a reminder that neglect has consequences.
The rains will come again, as they always have.
The real question is whether Ghana will finally learn the lessons that each flood painfully teaches.
If we continue to ignore environmental laws, tolerate illegal development and neglect urban planning, next year's headlines will be identical to today’s.
But if the government, local authorities and citizens play their part, Accra can become a city that withstands the rains rather than one that fears them.
