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Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza, an architect, and MP for Adaklu has called on government to ensure that the proposed subterranean drains project for Nima and its environs in Accra would deal adequately with sand and other effluence.

“Truth be told, when you have covered drains, you should have the ability to have chambers, where you can be able to desilt them,” Mr Agbodza said, in response to what difficulties he sees, when construction of proposed construction of the closed drains are done.

The Parliament of Ghana before it rose mid-August 2020, earlier approved a total of €101.76 million loan agreement to finance the design and construction of subterranean drainage and ancillary sewage system that will cover the Nima drain from Kaokudi to the Odaw River Basin.

The agreement is between the government of Ghana and Standard Chartered Bank, London.
The facility comprises of the Term Loan Facility of €91.4 million as well as the Commercial Facility of €10.38 million between the Government of Ghana and Standard Chartered Bank, London.

Featuring in the project, of which President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is reported to be personally interested, would be green areas, bike and human walkways, upgraded football pitch, shade areas, and rest and playgrounds.

According to Works and Housing Minister Samuel Atta Akyea, despite complaints in certain quarters that such levels of infrastructure would raise Ghana’s debt stock, the construction of subterranean drains is the best way to go.

Mr Agbodza supported the construction of the proposed drains, but pointed out that they were to be handled in a way that would not create bigger problems with removal of choked drains as a result of sand, polythene and other effluence.

He had thrown the caution when he supported the motion to adopt a report of the Works and Housing Committee on the proposed construction project.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra, the Adaklu MP explained that the construction of subterranean drains would deal with the eyesore of filth in open drains.
He said: “There is a large chorus of people who don’t like what we see in open drains.
“To pedestrians in the city, it’s a hindrance if you want to cross from one side of the road to the other side, you need to leg off. And it’s not convenient for children and people who are not physically strong. So nobody likes it.

He said the call to have subterranean drains was a good thing, but added “my point is that, as along as those drains will not find entry points where the solid waste can go into it, that will be good.

This, he said, is because “in countries where you don’t see drains by the roadside, what happens is that, when they build the drains, the inlet is sealed with grilles and it’s a whole network.

“You don’t do it at a point and leave the other ones. The project we are talking about is only at a section of the city. So, I don’t know how effective it will be, and which ones will be covered.”

Mr Agbodza said much of the shoulders of roods in Ghana are not paved, and running water carrying a lot of sand into the underground drains might create bigger problems.

Mr Agbodza said he was yet to see the designs on the project and called for the entire drainage system in Accra to be redesigned.