Kumasi’s flood fix stuck as KMA says engineering costs too high

Kumasi’s perennial flooding problem won't go away anytime soon — and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly says it’s not for lack of trying. The main culprit? Money.

Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi, the Metropolitan Chief Executive, told the press that the Assembly knows exactly what needs to be done to stop the floods. But the price tag for those engineering works is so high that the city can't move forward without central government help.

“We need to put in place new engineering drainage arrangements that can contain huge volumes of water. That's a lot of money, which is why engineers are putting their work together,” Boadi said.

The plan includes expanding and rebuilding drains, dredging major waterways, and other large-scale infrastructure projects. But those don't come cheap. For now, the Assembly is stuck doing routine desilting and maintenance — which Boadi admits isn't enough.

He pointed to rapid urbanisation as a major factor making things worse. In some crowded neighbourhoods, buildings are so close together that there's barely room for water to flow.

“If you look at some densely populated areas, the distance between the walls isn't even beyond eight inches. Human activity has increased in those areas, and so the tendency for drains to fill up with the slightest rain is very high,” he explained.

Once engineers finish a comprehensive, costed proposal, the Assembly will submit it to the Ministry of Works and Housing. Boadi said he's hopeful that sustained lobbying — including by the Regional Minister — will get the funding approved.

But he also made a pointed comparison with Accra. When floods hit the capital, he said, the response is swift and high-level.

“The difference between Kumasi and Accra is that in Accra, when something happens, you see the Minister of Works and Housing, the Minister of the Interior, everybody goes there, and solutions are found quickly,” Boadi said. “In Kumasi, when it happens, it's left with me and my regional minister. Sometimes you put up proposals, and you don't get the kind of attention you expect.”

In the meantime, the KMA has announced it will demolish structures built on waterways. That move is aimed at removing obstructions that worsen flooding — but it's a short-term fix for a long-term problem.

Boadi stressed that while desilting and dredging help reduce the immediate impact, the only real solution is a complete overhaul of the city's drainage system. And that overhaul needs serious cash — cash the Assembly doesn't have on its own.