Flooding Is a Land Problem
Urban
flooding is, at its core, a land-use problem. Water follows geography. Rivers
need corridors, wetlands need protection, drainage channels need space. When
those spaces disappear, floods appear. So the real question is simple: who
controls the land that should have stayed undeveloped?
In
much of Greater Accra and Ashanti, land sits under customary ownership, with
chiefs as custodians on behalf of their people. That makes them more than
cultural leaders. They are powerful urban actors who shape where people build
and how settlements expand. When a floodplain, wetland, or natural drainage
path is handed over for development, the consequences surface years later,
during the next heavy rain. By then the damage is already locked in.
The
economics make it worse. Urban land is now one of Ghana's most valuable assets,
and wetlands are too often treated as "vacant land" rather than
ecological infrastructure. Streams are narrowed, valleys are occupied,
retention areas vanish, and the city loses its ability to absorb water. In that
sense, flooding begins long before the storm. It begins with a land allocation
decision.
Why Kumasi Looks Different
Saying
"Kumasi doesn't flood" is an exaggeration. It floods too, especially
in low-lying areas near streams. But the scale and frequency are far lower than
Accra's, and the reasons are partly geographic. Kumasi's undulating terrain and
richer natural drainage give water somewhere to go, while Accra's flatter
coastal plains hold water more easily.
Geography
is not the whole story. Historically, Kumasi's traditional system exercised
stronger territorial control over expansion, allowing more coordination between
customary land management and urban growth. It was never perfect, but it
produced a more structured pattern than parts of Accra, where multiple stools,
families, state agencies, developers, and political interests collide.
Fragmented land governance produces fragmented planning.
Chiefs Are Not the Only Culprits
Blaming
chiefs alone would be dishonest. Flooding is the product of many failures:
assemblies approving developments, planners issuing permits, politicians
bending enforcement, developers chasing profit, citizens building illegally,
and waste choking the drains. Successive governments have underinvested in
drainage for decades. Chiefs are not the sole cause. But where they have
sanctioned building on waterways and wetlands, they are part of the chain of
responsibility.
The
deeper issue is the weak link between traditional authority and modern
planning. Chiefs control land; planners control regulations; the two often work
in isolation. A developer may secure customary approval before planning
approval, or planning approval with no regard for traditional land dynamics.
That disconnect breeds uncoordinated development. The fix is not weaker
traditional institutions but stronger collaboration between chiefs, planning
departments, assemblies, environmental and water agencies, and researchers,
with land decisions guided by hydrology, climate data, and ecology.
The Stakes Are Rising
Climate
change is intensifying rainfall and making storms more extreme, even as cities
grow and concrete spreads. Building on wetlands today guarantees larger,
costlier floods tomorrow. This matters most for fast-growing secondary cities
like Sunyani, Tamale, Takoradi, and Koforidua, which still have a chance to
avoid Accra's mistakes.
African
traditional leadership once carried real environmental stewardship. Sacred
groves were protected, water bodies respected, some lands left untouched.
Perhaps the modern chief must evolve from land allocator to environmental
guardian, asking not only "who wants land?" but "should this
land be developed at all?" That single question could save lives.
Beyond Blame
The
title here is deliberately provocative. Accra does not flood simply because of
chiefs, and Kumasi's resilience is not down to tradition alone. But if flooding
is fundamentally a land-use problem, then those who control land must be part
of the conversation, alongside planners, politicians, developers, assemblies,
and citizens.
