Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, Dr Kingsley Agyemang, has called for the establishment of a National Disaster Risk Management Fund to provide sustainable financing for flood prevention and disaster response efforts in Ghana.

According to him, the country can no longer continue responding to disasters on an ad hoc basis, particularly as floods have become a recurring challenge affecting lives, property and infrastructure across the country.

Speaking on the recent flooding incidents in Accra, Dr. Agyemang said Ghana must begin to adopt global best practices by creating a dedicated fund to support disaster risk reduction and management.

"We are not ready to solve anything. If you are confronted with a situation you can't control, you have to find a way to either treat it or transfer it to a vehicle that would be more accurate in solving it, "Disasters in this country, whether we like it or not, are either man-made or natural. Floods in Accra are a combination of the two. We don't have control over our climate and the rains will keep coming, and we are all contributing to the severity and intensity of the problem," he said.

Dr Agyemang who argued that human activities and poor environmental practices continue to worsen the impact of flooding whenever heavy rains occur also revealed that he had previously raised concerns about disaster preparedness with the Interior Minister and pointed to existing provisions under the Insurance Act that require certain commercial properties to be insured.

However, he believes Ghana must go beyond insurance measures and establish a dedicated national fund to address disaster-related challenges. Citing countries such as the Philippines, Japan, Mexico, India and the United Kingdom, Dr Agyemang said governments in those jurisdictions have developed specific funding mechanisms to respond to disasters associated with their geographical and environmental realities.

He proposed that the fund could be financed through ring-fenced revenue sources, including special taxes and levies, central government budgetary allocations, corporate social responsibility contributions and portions of petroleum revenues.

"So if you have this National Disaster Risk Management Fund and you're going to have sources that are ring-fenced, which would include maybe special taxes and levies, we could have central government's budgetary allocation towards it, we could have corporate social responsibility donations, especially from the mines and extractive industries. We can even look at a special contribution from the national petroleum revenue," he suggested.

Dr Agyemang further argued that sustainable funding would enable authorities to undertake critical flood mitigation projects, including drainage improvement and dredging exercises, which are often abandoned due to financial constraints.

According to him, recurring floods have become a reality that Ghana must confront through long-term planning and dedicated investments.

"This is a lifestyle situation and our lifestyles are fueling and contributing to the severity of this. We cannot continue like this. Floods have come to live with us and we must fund it. Other than that, every year we will continue to empathize with the victims," he said.

He stressed that a dedicated disaster fund would ensure that resources are readily available to support mitigation efforts and respond effectively whenever disasters occur.