The Oforikrom Municipal Assembly in Kumasi has embarked on a dredging exercise of water ways to avert the reoccurrence of flooding in the municipality.
The exercise will take place at every area including Anwomaso, Oforikrom East, Twumduase, Appaidu and High Tension that has identified as water prone and likely to experience flooding during the rainy season to save lives and properties.
Mr. Abraham Antwi, the Municipal Chief Executive explained that the exercise is to complement the Assembly’s agenda of improving the standard of living of the residents and to also prevent perennial flooding in the area.
According to him, the Assembly has decided to dredge every water prone area, where residents are dislocated during every rainy season.
The MCE pleaded with private developers to desist from filling water prone areas in the dry seasons to avert the dangers that come with flooding, including displacement of residents.
He disclosed that most of their challenges are the bad road network, especially in the new developed areas, which the Assembly and government is steadily working to address.
He indicated that the focus is to improve on revenue mobilisation to increase the internally Generated Fund (IGF) mobilisation through the setting up of Point of Sale Device to enhance rapid developmental agenda of the Assembly.
The MCE said the initiative is to encourage the Assembly not to rely on the Assembly Common Fund from the central government for development.He urged private hostel owners to ensure security at their facilities, including CCTV devices with neighbourhood watch committees, as the police in the municipality are over stretched with the over 100,000 students and residents at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)
Mr. Richard Nyarko, the Assembly man for Apemso- Kodiekrom commended the Munipal Assembly for the dredging exercise, describing it as laudable project for the fact that it would help prevent the annual disasters and havoc caused by flooding every rainy season.
The Assemblyman noted that the initiative will bring about some relief to the residents as they will be saved the trouble of displacement as well a saving lives and properties.
