The District Governor of Lions Clubs International, District 418 Ghana, Ebo Prah Manson, has urged the government to take decisive measures to address the causes of recurring floods in the country rather than continually responding to their aftermath.
He said authorities must clear blocked watercourses and remove structures built along their path to prevent avoidable flooding and reduce the need for repeated emergency interventions.
Mr Manson made the call at a flood relief donation exercise organised by Lions Clubs International, District 418 Ghana, at Winneba last Friday.
“Where drains need to be cleared to allow water to flow freely, the authorities should act. Also, structures constructed along watercourses should be removed responsibly to prevent future disasters,” he said.
He, therefore, called for greater attention to be paid to flood prevention, saying the country should not rely on emergency funding every year to respond to disasters that could be prevented.
Intervention
The relief exercise, which was supported by a $15,000 grant from the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), was distributed to 500 households affected by the floods across four communities.
Winneba received relief items for 100 households, while 200 households in Abokobi, 100 in Tema and another 100 in Samreboi also benefited from the exercise.
The items distributed included rice, gari, beans, cooking oil, tomato paste, bags of water, cutlery and fairly used clothes.
The total cost of the relief items was $18,300, with the LCIF grant supplemented by contributions from Lions, Leos and other partners.
Mr Manson explained that LCIF provided the $15,000 grant after District 418 notified the foundation about the impact of the June floods across several communities in the country.
He said the foundation's support, together with additional contributions from the organisation's members and other partners, enabled the district to provide relief to affected households.
“The foundation's intervention is intended to complement government efforts in responding to disasters rather than a permanent source of relief for flood victims,” he said.
Ghana constitutes District 418 within Lions Clubs International, which has about 752 districts worldwide.
The district's flood response follows the June flooding that affected several communities across the country.
