Former Accra Mayor Alfred Oko Vanderpuije says the two mayors who succeeded him, Mohammed Adjei Sowah and Elizabeth Kwatsoe Sackey, failed to maintain the standards and policies his administration introduced, blaming political considerations for some of the city’s current challenges, including flooding and development in waterways.

Speaking on TV3’s Hot Issues on August 3, 2026, Vanderpuije said he was disappointed with the state of Accra since leaving office in 2017, arguing that his successors did not do enough to sustain measures implemented during his tenure.

"I can answer that one without any fear. The two mayors that came after me did not live up to my expectation," he said.

The former mayor said he expected his successors to continue enforcing policies that prevented people from building in waterways and engaging in activities that affected the city’s development.

Oko Vanderpuije calls for sanitation courts to swiftly address breaches

"I expected them to follow what we did in Accra. Why did we continue to build in waterways? Why did we continue to allow people to do whatever they wanted with our city? They shouldn't have done that," he stated.

Vanderpuije, who served as Mayor of Accra from 2009 to 2017, said he was unhappy with how the capital has evolved, particularly after the metropolitan area was divided into several assemblies.

He argued that while decentralisation created opportunities, local authorities have not been given the financial autonomy needed to effectively develop their jurisdictions.

"I'm not happy that we subdivided it and broke (Accra) it all down. And I keep asking myself the question, who is in charge? When we create opportunity, but we don't create the support to the extent that the people in that opportunity can go all out for the development of their jurisdictions," he stated.

He called for major metropolitan assemblies such as Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale to be empowered to raise funds independently instead of relying largely on allocations from the District Assemblies Common Fund.

"I wish that we should open the door of support and resources. I appreciate the fact that we are getting the Common Fund, but we can do better than that," he said.

"Let's give Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, Tamale and those districts the autonomy. Let them take what they have in their jurisdiction and go anywhere and borrow money to come and develop their jurisdiction," he stated.

According to him, inadequate resources continue to hamper efforts to tackle persistent challenges such as flooding and poor sanitation.

"Today we continue to have flooding in Accra. Today we don't have scientifically engineered sanitation sites. We keep dumping, and our metropolitan chief executives do not have the way out to do differently. It takes resources," he said.

The former mayor recalled that during his tenure he often had to seek financial support directly from former Presidents John Evans Atta Mills and John Dramani Mahama to execute projects.

"I would go to both presidents and plead, and they would give me their support," he said.

He, however, argued that metropolitan assemblies should be empowered by law to attract investment and enter partnerships that would finance urban development.

"I wish there was another way that by an Act of Parliament we are given the authority to go out and look for money, look for investors to come and invest in our city, partner us and let us develop our city and be held accountable," he stated.

Reflecting on his tenure, Vanderpuije pointed out decongestion exercises, sanitation initiatives and the construction of Millennium City Schools as some of his administration’s achievements.

According to him, strict enforcement during his administration prevented people from constructing buildings in waterways, a policy he believes helped reduce flooding.

"When Oko was Mayor of Accra, you couldn't just build anywhere in waterways. If I saw it, I would take it down," he said.

"But they did not. They let people build in waterways. Today, when it rains, the whole place is flooding because it's all been blocked."

Oko Vanderpuije calls for sanitation courts to swiftly address breaches

He maintained that successive administrations should have preserved those policies, insisting that governance should be continuous regardless of changes in leadership.

"Government is continuous. The mayors who came after me should have put their feet down and said, 'Oko did this and we are going to continue it.' They played politics with it," he added.

JKB/BAI

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