The Minister of Works, Housing and Water Resources, Ahmed Ibrahim, has called for stronger flood forecasting and early-warning systems to help Ghana identify flood threats early and protect lives, property and infrastructure.
He made the call in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy, Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui, during a familiarisation visit to the Ghana Hydrological Authority (HYDRO) last Thursday.
The visit was to discuss the authority’s ongoing activities, operational priorities and challenges with the ministry.
Flood forecasting
Mr Ibrahim urged the HYDRO to provide reliable scientific data, timely early warnings and practical solutions to address the country’s water-related challenges.
He stressed the importance of hydrological data collection, flood forecasting and water resources assessment to national planning, flood risk reduction and the protection of lives and infrastructure.
The minister further urged the authority to address emerging challenges and take steps to prevent a recurrence of the incident on June 29.
He reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to strengthening the HYDRO’s institutional capacity and promoting collaboration among relevant agencies to improve water resources management.
Coastal protection
The discussion on coastal protection highlighted the need for stronger cooperation among coastal countries and the sharing of expertise to address coastal erosion.
Ghana could learn from the experiences of Togo and Benin before implementing its own coastal protection interventions.
The coastal management strategy is expected to identify areas that require protection, as the entire 550-kilometre coastline is not equally vulnerable to erosion.
The Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western regions were identified as the four regions most critically affected by coastal erosion.
For his part, the Chief Executive Officer of the HYDRO, Dr Sylvester Darko, outlined the authority’s work in flood monitoring, early-warning systems, coastal protection and the provision of hydrological information for national planning.
He also underscored the importance of collaboration between the authority, the ministry and other agencies to support national development.
