Four state institutions have taken delivery of seven million dollars’ worth of equipment from the Ministry of Works Housing to fight flooding in the Greater Accra Region.
The institutions are the Ghana Meteorological Agency, which had 18 new telemetric rain gauges and two automatic weather stations located at Aburi and Ada- Sege to monitor parameters such as humidity, temperature, evaporation solar radiation and wind speed.
The Ghana Hydrological Authority (GHA) received advanced sensors, cameras, and profilers to track and share water levels and runoff in streams and drains.
The Water Resources Commission (WRC) and NADMO also took delivery of new computer gears to help with coordinating and sharing flood warning alerts.
Minister for Works and Housing, Frances Asenso-Boakye, speaking at the handing over ceremony, emphasised the importance of the new equipment.
“The procurement and installation of these equipment mark the first step in our journey toward a safer, more resilient Greater Accra Region.”
He said apart from the installation of the new equipment, the Ministry was signing a contract with a Service Provider to set up an early warning system platform, maintain the project for three years and train some staff of beneficiary institutions to take over its operations.
Coordinator for the Greater Accra Resilience and Integrated Development (GARID) Project, Kwadwo Ohene Sarfoh, stressed on the need for the equipment to be well taken care of.
“If even one of them is stolen, the system will not function. We cannot allow one person’s disregard for our welfare to affect the entire Greater Accra region. So, we are calling upon all, including the media, the communities where we are placing these equipment, the institutions themselves that are involved for all of us to work together so that we can make this a success.”
The Accra Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) is under the GARID Project.
It aims to tackle floods and manage waste better in the Odaw River Basin, in Greater Accra, while also enhancing basic infrastructure and services in local communities.
It is being supported by the World Bank and implemented by the Ministry of Works and Housing.
GNA
