Finance Ministry technical advisor Dr Theo Acheampong has criticised Ghana’s urban planning, saying the country has failed badly, after fresh floods hit parts of Accra following a brief downpour.
In a widely shared social media post, the economist offered a blunt assessment of the capital, arguing that only a handful of neighbourhoods, among them Ridge, Cantonments and parts of Osu, enjoy proper drainage, decent streets and sanitation. “The whole city is just one big slum,” he wrote.
He contrasted Accra unfavourably with other African capitals such as Nairobi, Addis Ababa and Dakar, insisting the country had failed at planning its cities. Acheampong called for an end to unregulated building, urging that order replace what he described as chaos.
His remarks followed another bout of flooding that swamped several parts of Accra after a short but heavy downpour. The scenes were familiar, with flooding having become an almost yearly ordeal in the capital.
Researchers have long traced Accra’s flooding to poor drainage and unplanned development in low lying and informal settlements, many of them along the Odaw river. Past responses, often coordinated by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), have brought temporary relief without delivering a lasting fix.
