RAIN, FLOOD VICTIMS AND LAND SALES
Nearly 40 hours of rain throughout the country last week left in its trail floods that caused 35 deaths and serious damage to houses, roads and bridges, and washed away farms and their crops.
The damage was more devastating and conspicuous in the Greater Accra Region, Ashanti and Volta regions and the Gomoa area of the Central Region and parts of the north.
In these areas, the rivers did not only break their banks and carried away bridges, but also washed away sand, dust and vegetation from their immediate vicinity, and thus creating scenes which are reminiscent of either war or an earthquake.
Sadly, among the dead were some children who were said to be congregating for a birthday party for a colleague.
Clearly, the causes of the damage were not only natural, but also, sadly, man-made because some people stubbornly built houses in water ways, where the structures prevented the fiercely running water from flowing into the sea.
A visit to building sites makes one wonder whether while the developers are inspecting the sites, it never occurs to them that one day they would pay dearly for the floods caused in future for putting up houses and other structures in water ways, in the event of floods, which would surely come after heavy rains!
We know often developers are warned about the danger of building at those sites because they are either waterlogged or in water ways.
The building authorities even refuse to issue building permits due to the unsuitability of the sites.
In certain instances, the refusal to issue permits develops into a tug of war between the developers and officials of the building department of the city’s authorities.
Occasionally, the city authorities persist in stopping unauthorized structures by carrying out a mass demolition of unauthorized structures.
However, the developers are stubborn and many of them persist and build structures, regardless.
It has even come to light that some developers circumvent the laid down rules and secretly pay bribes to officials who issue them with fake building permits which they use as their permits to build structures o unregistered sites.
And after each rainfall and the follow-up floods, the question on many lips is why the people who sell the lands are allowed to go scot-free while it is always the developers who suffer all the time?
Not until the authorities pull down such structures, no matter what stages such property has reached and the sellers do not go scot-free, this lawlessness would persist.
There is the popular belief that if both the developer and the seller are punished for their illegal acts, the practice would be reduced drastically.
Additionally, the seller and the developer should be prosecuted for either illegally selling under- developed land or defying the rules governing the sale of lands for residential purposes.
If land sale regulations are tightened, the illegal development of houses or other structures in the water ways would be reduced, if not stopped altogether.
It is our view that if both land developers and sellers are either fined heavily or even sent to jail, sanity would prevail and the reckless way of disposing of lands would be minimized.
Henceforth, land sellers and developers should be held accountable, until both parties realize that there would be legal entanglements over land disposed of without meeting all legal requirements.
Nearly 40 hours of rain throughout the country last week left in its trail floods that caused 35 deaths and serious damage to houses, roads and bridges, and washed away farms and their crops.
The damage was more devastating and conspicuous in the Greater Accra Region, Ashanti and Volta regions and the Gomoa area of the Central Region and parts of the north.
In these areas, the rivers did not only break their banks and carried away bridges, but also washed away sand, dust and vegetation from their immediate vicinity, and thus creating scenes which are reminiscent of either war or an earthquake.
Sadly, among the dead were some children who were said to be congregating for a birthday party for a colleague.
Clearly, the causes of the damage were not only natural, but also, sadly, man-made because some people stubbornly built houses in water ways, where the structures prevented the fiercely running water from flowing into the sea.
A visit to building sites makes one wonder whether while the developers are inspecting the sites, it never occurs to them that one day they would pay dearly for the floods caused in future for putting up houses and other structures in water ways, in the event of floods, which would surely come after heavy rains!
We know often developers are warned about the danger of building at those sites because they are either waterlogged or in water ways.
The building authorities even refuse to issue building permits due to the unsuitability of the sites.
In certain instances, the refusal to issue permits develops into a tug of war between the developers and officials of the building department of the city’s authorities.
Occasionally, the city authorities persist in stopping unauthorized structures by carrying out a mass demolition of unauthorized structures.
However, the developers are stubborn and many of them persist and build structures, regardless.
It has even come to light that some developers circumvent the laid down rules and secretly pay bribes to officials who issue them with fake building permits which they use as their permits to build structures o unregistered sites.
And after each rainfall and the follow-up floods, the question on many lips is why the people who sell the lands are allowed to go scot-free while it is always the developers who suffer all the time?
Not until the authorities pull down such structures, no matter what stages such property has reached and the sellers do not go scot-free, this lawlessness would persist.
There is the popular belief that if both the developer and the seller are punished for their illegal acts, the practice would be reduced drastically.
Additionally, the seller and the developer should be prosecuted for either illegally selling under- developed land or defying the rules governing the sale of lands for residential purposes.
If land sale regulations are tightened, the illegal development of houses or other structures in the water ways would be reduced, if not stopped altogether.
It is our view that if both land developers and sellers are either fined heavily or even sent to jail, sanity would prevail and the reckless way of disposing of lands would be minimized.
Henceforth, land sellers and developers should be held accountable, until both parties realize that there would be legal entanglements over land disposed of without meeting all legal requirements.
Comments