By Rebecca Lartey

The Municipal Chief Executive of Ashaiman, Freeman Tsekpo, has renewed calls for the reconstruction of the Gbemi Storm Drain into a modern drainage system to help curb recurring flooding in the municipality.

According to the MCE, the ageing drain requires a permanent engineering solution rather than the annual desilting exercises currently undertaken by the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly.

Mr Tsekpo said the Gbemi Storm Drain falls under the jurisdiction of the Hydrological Services Department of the Ministry of Works and Housing, and appealed to the government to prioritise its reconstruction.

He explained that the Assembly had made several appeals through letters, meetings and engagements with the relevant authorities for the drain to be upgraded.

“The challenge is funds. This type of drain, if you know how the architecture of the country in terms of projects are, you will see that this falls directly under the Ministry of Works and Housing,” he said.

The MCE noted that the Hydrological Services Department has responsibility for natural water bodies, including rivers and streams, making the construction of the major storm drain largely dependent on central government intervention.

“I will reiterate the appeal that we have been making through letters, through meetings, through lobbying, that the Gbemi Storm Drain is of age and it is time that we construct it than to leave it as an extreme,” Mr Tsekpo said.

Ashaiman has experienced several flooding incidents over the years, including major flooding in 2010 and 2018, while subsequent incidents between 2020 and 2024 were comparatively less severe.

Mr Tsekpo attributed the relatively improved situation during the June 2025–2026 rainy periods partly to extensive dredging and desilting around Adjei-Kojo, which serves as an exit point for the drain.

He, however, stressed that annual desilting could only provide temporary relief.

“For the time being, every year we desilt this very drain. We desilt it every year and we are just appealing that it should be constructed into a modern storm drain so that it will help alleviate the challenges of flooding within the municipality,” he said.

Assembly moves against dumping in drains

The MCE also raised concerns about residents using the storm drain as a dumping ground, warning that indiscriminate disposal of waste could worsen flooding and undermine the Assembly’s efforts to keep the drainage system functional.

He made the comments when the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly joined communities across the country to mark the National Sanitation Day.

Mr Tsekpo said a three-in-one clean-up exercise was being undertaken around the drain, but expressed concern that residents living nearby had turned portions of the drainage area into a refuse disposal site.

“We are having a three-in-one cleanup exercise and this is one of our storm drain areas. Unfortunately, the people living by the drain have turned this place into their refuse dump,” he said.

To prevent the situation from recurring, the Assembly plans to establish a satellite monitoring system at the location to monitor activities around the drain and discourage residents from dumping refuse there.

“We are setting up a satellite monitoring system here so that after this exercise, we will not see this thing again,” he added.