Rain, Mubarak & Michael Jackson Dominate Ghana Media

Havoc caused in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, following heavy rains, the resignation of beleaguered Youth and Sports minister, Muntaka Mubarak, and the death of US pop star Michael Jackson occupied the front pages of the major newspapers this week.

The rains in western Accra caused deaths and widespread destruction to property in several suburbs in the city and triggered another debate about poor planning, construction on waterways and, inadequate and chocked drains.

“Rain havoc hits Accra; 7 dead, property worth millions of cedis destroyed,” was the headline of the state-owned Graphic, which carried a series of photographs s howing the scale of destruction.

The Graphic said heavy floods in the western parts of Accra last Friday night claimed at least seven lives and caused massive destruction to private and public property.

It said disaster managers described the floods as the most destructive in recent times, with the most affected being Sakama and Kaneshie suburbs.

The floods washed away the bitumen on a portion of the Kanesie-Malam road and caused some of the vehicles caught in the rush hour traffic to float and run into one another.

It quoted the deputy regional Police Commander ACP Christian Yohumo, as saying the seven casualties comprised five males and two females.

Officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation in the Greater Accra Region have directed residents of flood-prone areas in the region to relocate and avoid another tragedy during the pending rains.

They also advised that all valuable items kept in those areas should be moved for safe keeping in preparedness for any eventuality.

The headline of the state-owned Ghanaian Times read: “7 lay dead, hard earned property destroyed and the people asked When, O When”

It wrote: “In the aftermath of last Friday night’s flood, as lifeless bodies lay covered, waiting was to be taken to the mortuary, and as thousands of Ghana ced is worth of property floated off to their destruction, there was one noise everywhere – wailing and gnashing of teeth by people, mostly traders, for whom the world had come to an end.

“Seven lay dead, and foodstuff, textile prints and cosmetics at the Kaneshie market were washed away by the rain water.”

In another story, the Graphic said the metro roads department of the Accra Metro politan Assembly had earmarked a number of major drains to be cleared of silt in order to contain large volumes of rain water in the future.

With calls ringing for the demolition of structures on waterways, the Ghanaian Times in a headline “Demolition - No compensation if…” said persons who acquired p ermits before unknowingly constructed their houses on waterways would be compens a ted when their buildings were demolished.

However, those who built on waterways without permit would not be compensated when their buildings are pulled down. Rather, they would be charged with the cost of demolition, Kofi Portuphy, coordinator of NADMO said.

He said the demolition exercise, which will start soon, had become irreversible, as a result of the havoc that often followed any downpour in the capital.

Meanwhile, the Graphic said, an inter-ministerial committee had been formed by the government to identify and demolish buildings and illegal structures on water courses to prevent a recurrence of last Friday's floods in Accra that claimed seven lives.

It is estimated that more than 45 buildings will be affected.

In August 2007, after a similar disaster in which five people were killed by flood in the western part of Accra, 25 buildings were marked for demolition by NADM O but after three of them had been pulled down, owners of the affected properties sought a court injunction to stop the exercise.

In another story, the Graphic said the volume of rain that resulted in the death of seven people and a massive destruction of property in the western part of Accra has been estimated at 313.8 millimetres, one of the highest ever recorded by the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMA).

A Senior Meteorologist of the Agency, Mr Amos Narh, said the last time it recorded something near was in the 1970s and warned of more serious disaster for residents of western Accra if watercourses remained blocked before the next downpour.

The Graphic’s headline on the saga of the Youth and Sports minister read “Muntaka resigns” and the story said the embattled Minister Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak resigned his position after he was cleared of malfeasance levelled against him by the principal accountant of the ministry, Mr Adim Odoom, by an investigative team of the national security secretariat.

The minister’s resignation followed President John Evans Atta Mills’ dissatisfaction with his decision to embark on a German trip with Ms Edith Zinayela, the secretary to the majority leader.

The Ghanaian Times’ headline was “Bombshell at Sports Ministry. Government orders overhaul; Muntaka cleared.”

The story said the embattled minister tendered in his resignation on Thursday hours before a national security investigation into allegations of financial malfeasance against him were made public.

The report of the investigations cleared him of the accusations of financial malfeasance, but found him culpable of indiscretion for not ensuring prudent judgement.

President Mills directed the interdiction of the ministry’s Chief Director, Albert Ampong and the principal accountant, Adim Odoom, for their complicity in the matter.

The President directed the immediate auditing of the accounts of the ministry as well as overhaul of the institutional structures. He also ordered an audit of the affairs of the sports division of the ministry between 2001 and 2009.

News of Michael Jackson’s death came quite late but the newspapers find found space to pay tribute to the icon.

“Michael Jackson is dead”, read the Graphic headline, and the story said “Popular pop star Michael Jackson, was reported to have died yesterday (Thursday) in Los Angeles in the US after a cardiac arrest. He was 50 and left behind 3 children. ”

The Ghanaian Times said “Michael Jackson, king of pop, is reported dead, Sky News of London said on Thursday, quoting TMZ.”