Aboabo drain encroachers face demolition as Asokore Mampong tightens flood measures

The Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly in the Ashanti Region has earmarked dozens of buildings for demolition as part of efforts to reduce flooding risks in the municipality.

The structures, many of them erected illegally along the banks of the Aboabo storm drain, have been cited as major contributors to perennial flooding that damages property and endangers lives during heavy rains.

MCE

Municipal Chief Executive Ben Abdallah Alhassan, speaking after a demolition exercise, said property owners had been given a one-week ultimatum to clear their buildings or face decisive action.

“We have given another opportunity during the demolition within a space of another one week. Failure to do so will compel the Assembly to come again, with a bigger and more purposeful machinery to carry out the demolition exercise and surcharge them for the cost,” he warned.

Indiscipline

He described the illegal developments as part of a wider culture of indiscipline in physical planning, adding that the Assembly would continue to pull down unlawful structures in the coming weeks and months.

“This is not the first of its kind, and we would continue. All structures that have been illegally put out will go down. We are committed to ensuring discipline within the physical planning space,” he said.

The Assembly’s action comes as Ghana’s rainy season heightens concerns over flood prevention. Officials say clearing watercourses of unauthorized buildings is critical to protecting lives and property in flood-prone areas.