16% of Accra’s drainage buffer zones lost to encroachment — GARID

Nearly one-sixth of the legally protected buffer zones along major drainage channels in parts of the Greater Accra Region has been overtaken by unauthorised developments, a new assessment by the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project has revealed.

Urban planning experts have consistently identified encroachment on waterways, indiscriminate construction within drainage reserves, poor waste management and weak enforcement of planning regulations as major contributors to recurrent flooding in the capital.

According to the assessment, the number of structures erected within protected drainage corridors continues to rise across many parts of the region despite existing planning regulations.