The Member of Parliament for Sawla-Tuna-Kalba constituency, Hon Andrew Dari Chiwitey, has called on the government to as a matter of necessity take extreme measures to mitigate the effects of floods in urban and peri-urban areas of the country.
According to him, the perennial floods which cause havoc in the cities leading to loss of life and property should be tackle head-on.
Hon Chiwitey made the call in support of the Speaker of Parliament to summon the minister of Works and Housing and the Finance minister to answer urgent questions on the recent flooding recorded in Accra and Kumasi.
He reminded the government not to sleep over its responsibility as the recent downpour has affected many residents in urban and peri-urban cities, especially in Greater Accra and Kumasi respectively.
“Mr. Speaker, I am appealing to the Ministry of Housing to put extreme measures in place for the effective execution of duties by duty bearers.
” It is important that especially the Finance minister should render an account to Ghanaians on how much was accrued from the sanitation levy and its utilization”,the lawmaker said.
Background.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has summoned Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye and the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta over floods recorded in Accra, Kumasi and other parts of the country.
A mother and her two children were reportedly swept away at Amanfrom Peace Town in the Bortianor Ngleshie Amanfro constituency.
In Kumasi two people also reportedly died from the downpour.
The speaker blamed the development on lack of funds as a result of lack of commitment on the part of the government.
Mr. Alban Bagbin charged parliament to ensure the budget bill is passed to force the hand of the executive to prioritise things that are important to the citizens.
“The Minister responsible for Works and Housing to appear before the House together with the Minister for Finance and to give us a brief. On actions have been taken to make this a thing of the past. So we expect that at the latest before the end of next week these ministers should appear before us.
“If the substantive Minister is not there, there is a Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance who can represent him. I understand that the substantive Minister has travelled in case he is not available the other Minister should come and represent him,” the Speaker directed.
Source: yagbonradioonline
