The sodden streets of Accra have become a graveyard. The death toll from yesterday's catastrophic flooding has risen to 13, with rescue teams still pulling bodies from the wreckage as another storm system bears down on the capital. Sources on the ground confirm that the floods, triggered by a relentless downpour that overwhelmed the city's inadequate drainage, have left hundreds homeless and vital infrastructure in ruins.
Government officials, caught flat-footed, now face a mounting crisis. The Ghana Meteorological Agency has warned that a second storm is forecast to hit within 48 hours, threatening to compound the devastation. Emergency services, already stretched to breaking point, are scrambling to evacuate residents from low-lying areas. But with roads turned into rivers and communication networks down, the effort is chaotic at best.
Documents obtained by this correspondent reveal that Accra's drainage masterplan, commissioned five years ago at a cost of $200 million, remains largely unimplemented. The funds, sourced from international development loans, appear to have evaporated into a labyrinth of contracts and subcontracts. A former city planning official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: 'We all knew this was coming. The gutters were never cleaned. The money went elsewhere.'
Meanwhile, the human toll is rising. At the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, morgues are overflowing. Families search desperately for missing loved ones, their calls for help unanswered by a state that seems perpetually unprepared. The President has declared a state of emergency, but critics argue that such gestures are hollow without accountability.
As the rains continue, the question hangs in the air: how many more must die before the corrupt are held to account? This is not an act of God. It is an act of neglect. And there will be more storms to come.
