Throughout Ghana and far of Africa, the demolition of buildings constructed in waterways and waterlogged areas has turn into a frequent and sometimes vital response to the rising threats of flooding and environmental degradation. These actions, whereas important for public security and ecological restoration, expose extra than simply poor city planning—they reveal deeper failures in governance, institutional oversight, and enforcement. These constructions don’t seem in a single day. Many are erected with official permits or below the silent approval of native authorities. It’s, due to this fact, profoundly unjust for property homeowners to bear the complete financial and emotional burden of demolitions, whereas public officers who allowed these developments escape duty.
The presence of buildings in flood-prone areas displays not solely a breakdown in planning enforcement but additionally a disaster in housing accessibility and affordability. District meeting officers—significantly bodily planning officers, coordinating administrators, and District Chief Executives—are mandated to uphold improvement management laws. But their inaction, negligence, or in some instances, complicity by corrupt allowing practices, has created situations the place unauthorized building thrives. Confronted with skyrocketing hire costs, restricted entry to reasonably priced housing, and the burden of commuting lengthy distances from the outskirts of cities, many voters resort to constructing or renting in unsafe or unauthorized places. This paradox is made worse by the truth that Ghana’s 2021 Inhabitants and Housing Census revealed that over 12.7% of city housing models have been vacant—largely on account of affordability points, speculative funding, or poor location relative to employment hubs.
For many households, setting up a house represents a lifelong monetary milestone, sometimes supported by many years of financial savings or loans. The demolition of such houses with out compensation results in rapid homelessness and long-term monetary trauma. This undermines family stability, will increase poverty, and erodes public belief in governance methods. It’s troubling that whereas poor and susceptible residents are penalized, the very constructions of public administration that enabled these developments stay intact and unaccountable. Demolitions, in isolation, don’t clear up the housing disaster—they merely displace it. Till housing coverage addresses the rising inventory of vacant however unaffordable models and ensures that working-class residents can dwell affordably close to their locations of employment, the cycle of casual settlements and harmful building will persist.
To advertise inclusive, sustainable, and simply city improvement, accountability have to be shared and systemic. Public officers who knowingly issued unlawful permits or didn’t act should face sanctions—starting from administrative surcharges to authorized motion. On the identical time, city coverage should give attention to options: scaling up reasonably priced housing schemes, implementing honest hire controls, and making certain entry to serviced land and important infrastructure. A governance mannequin that focuses solely on demolition, with out confronting institutional failures and coverage gaps, will solely deepen city inequality. True progress lies not in razing houses however in rebuilding methods that serve individuals equitably and sustainably.
By Victor Boateng Owusu
Senior Statistician | Venture Administration Skilled | Statistical Information Literacy Advocate
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