Every rainy season, images of submerged vehicles, stranded commuters, and plastic-choked drains flood Ghanaian social media. The familiar narrative follows: poor drainage, inadequate infrastructure, climate change, and yet another call for desilting exercises.

But a growing chorus of urban analysts and researchers argues that this explanation, while not false, is dangerously incomplete. The real crisis, they contend, is not engineering—it is governability.

In a recent analytical essay titled “Accra and the Future Now Emerging Across Urban Africa,” writer Richard Dablah argues that Accra’s recurrent flooding reveals a widening gap between the speed of urban transformation and the capacity of institutions to manage it. Decades of cleanup campaigns, desilting exercises, and donor-funded resilience projects have failed to produce lasting resolution, he writes, because the city has entered a phase where informality, improvisation, and distributed adaptation have become the “hidden operating system” of metropolitan survival.

“The city evolves faster than the governing logic designed to manage it,” Dablah writes.

His diagnosis echoes a growing body of academic research. In a study published in April 2025, urban planning scholars Stephen Appiah Takyi and Owusu Amponsah surveyed 100 households in flood-prone areas of Accra, including Kaneshie, Adabraka, and Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

Their finding was stark: 52 percent of residents attributed flooding to weak enforcement of land use regulations, while only 8 percent blamed changes in rainfall patterns. Analysis of recorded flood and rainfall data found no correlation between increased rainfall and flooding—in 2017, for example, rainfall decreased while flooding increased.

Political Ecology, Not Climate Alone

Dr. Albert A. Arhin, a development planner and research fellow at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology’s Bureau of Integrated Rural Development, has made a similar argument.

In an opinion piece published by Graphic Online in July 2025, he wrote that Accra’s floods are “less about global warming and climate change and more about political ecology—how power, planning and privilege shape who suffers and why.”

Arhin points to selective enforcement as a core driver. “Bulldozers are quick to demolish the kiosks of the poor, but eerily silent when luxury estates encroach on floodplains,” he wrote. Urban planning decisions, he argued, are routinely undermined by political interference, and enforcement agencies remain systematically under-resourced.

“When developers know they can grease the system to override technical advice,” Arhin asked, “what incentive remains to follow the rules?”

Research conducted by Josephine Agbeko and Daniel Shtob of Michigan Technological University, published in April 2026 through the Global Disaster Preparedness Center, reached a similar conclusion.

After 40 in-depth interviews with municipal leaders, community leaders, and residents in four at-risk informal settlements, the researchers found that Accra’s dominant flood response “centers on technological and infrastructural solutions and largely omits community-engaged, participatory planning and governance, often to the detriment of project efficacy”.

Historical Planning Failures

The roots of today’s crisis run deep. According to a 2024 policy analysis published by The Ghana Report, the Town and Country Planning Division prepared a plan for Accra in 1958 that designated low-lying areas along the Odaw River for public open space, agriculture, and green belt specifically to conserve flood-prone areas. Decades later, hundreds of acres of those designated spaces have been converted into building plots.

In 1973, a Drainage Committee appointed by the National Liberation Council recommended prohibiting construction within 100 feet on either bank of major drainage channels. Those recommendations were never enforced. In 1992, the Strategic Plan for the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area included thematic maps on seven drainage basins and flood-prone areas, but it “remained on the shelf,” the analysis noted.

More recently, in July 2025, Ghana’s Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs held a validation workshop for a revised National Urban Policy Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The framework is designed to track inputs, activities, outputs, and long-term outcomes for urban planning, and includes plans for an Urban Observatory to support continuous monitoring and reporting.

Whether this framework will succeed where previous efforts have failed remains an open question. The same workshop also produced a draft Capacity Needs Assessment Report identifying “institutional gaps in staffing, logistics, technical capabilities, and coordination mechanisms across urban governance actors”.

Informality as Adaptation

Dablah’s essay situates Accra’s governance crisis within a broader African urban reality. He argues that informality has ceased to represent a temporary deviation from urban order and has instead become the “hidden operating system” of metropolitan survival.

Academic research supports this view. A 2025 study by Dr. Isaac Addo of the University of Ghana, published in the volume “Intersectionality and the City,” examined low-income workers at Accra’s Airport City—a “world-class enclave” of multinational businesses. Despite being employed in a space designed for high-income transients, these workers earn low wages and face barriers to accessing basic necessities. Their response has been to “common” the urban enclave, producing liminal spaces that blur the boundary between formality and informality through informal food vending and other adaptive strategies.

Dablah argues that this distributed adaptation—informal transport networks absorbing mobility pressures, informal settlements absorbing demographic expansion, plastic sachets compensating for uneven water access, private generators filling energy gaps—has become the mechanism through which Accra functions.

“Nothing fully collapses,” he writes. “Yet nothing fully resolves either.”

Dr. Onyanta Adama-Ajonye, a researcher at Stockholm University whose work focuses on urban governance and service delivery in African cities, is currently leading a project examining how informal waste workers in Accra, Lagos, and Maputo keep materials in circulation through improvised practices. Her research explores how new circular economy policies encounter pre-existing informal systems—often with unintended consequences for marginalized groups.

The Way Forward

Researchers and policy analysts have offered concrete recommendations. Takyi and Amponsah call for strict enforcement of buffer regulations, collaboration between planning authorities and the judiciary, and the adoption of green infrastructure such as rain gardens, permeable pavement, and rain harvesting systems. They also suggest introducing the “polluter pays principle” in city management, requiring those who encroach on wetlands or dispose of waste indiscriminately to bear the cost of environmental degradation—a practice already applied in cities such as Barcelona and Helsinki.

The 2024 policy analysis from The Ghana Report proposed establishing an Accra Region Conservation Authority or empowering the existing Densu Basin Board to undertake storm water management across entire drainage basins rather than within fragmented local government jurisdictions.

The author also called for a massive public awareness and education programme “directed towards attitude change that would enable people to understand flood problems, and to see themselves as being part, not only of the problem, but also of the solution”.

Arhin, the KNUST research fellow, offered a blunter assessment.

“These are not technical challenges—they are political choices,” he wrote. “Until we tackle the power dynamics behind who builds where and who is held accountable, no amount of rainfall prediction models or climate resilience strategies will save Accra from its next inundation”.

For Dablah, the stakes extend beyond Accra. He argues that the pressures converging inside African cities—climate instability, demographic compression, fragmented governance, adaptive informality—increasingly resemble pressures emerging globally.

“The future may arrive unevenly,” he writes. “But it rarely arrives only once.”

As Ghana invests over $200 million in the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project and other interventions, the question is whether these investments will address the underlying governance crisis or simply build more infrastructure atop a dysfunctional system.

The floodwaters, Dablah suggests, will reveal the answer.

Welcome to our curated digest of the most impactful and relevant stories shaping Ghana today.

President Mahama Dragged to CHRAJ Over Damang Mine Takeover

President John Dramani Mahama has been petitioned to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) over an alleged conflict of interest concerning the takeover of the Damang Mine by his brother, business magnate Ibrahim Mahama. Filed by private citizen Emmanuel Senyo Amekplenu, the petition argues that President Mahama’s role as Chair of Cabinet, which approved the transaction, violates Article 284 of the 1992 Constitution on the conduct of public officers. The petitioner also points to the alleged use of Ibrahim Mahama’s private jet for official travels and funding of the Vice President’s medical trip as evidence of undue influence. Amekplenu is seeking a full investigation into the approval process and a determination of whether constitutional breaches occurred. Read the full story here

RNAQ Makes New Settlement Move in Divorce Case, Raising Offer to GH¢2m

Popular businessman Richard Nii Armah Quaye (RNAQ) has made a significant new settlement offer to his ex-wife, Joana Coffie, in an attempt to end their protracted divorce battle out of court. According to a statement from his lawyers dated May 7, 2026, RNAQ has increased the court-awarded alimony from GH¢300,000 to GH¢2 million. The offer also includes completing renovations on their jointly owned home and transferring full ownership to Joana, handing over a three-bedroom house in Dansoman, and providing a Mercedes-Benz E-Class plus a second car of her choice. This comes after Joana, who had originally demanded GH¢50 million, filed an appeal against the January 2026 court ruling, arguing the trial court misapplied the law on marital property. Read the full story here

“We’re Tired” – Ghanaians in South Africa Plead for Evacuation Amid Xenophobia

Distressed Ghanaians living in South Africa have made emotional appeals for urgent evacuation, citing renewed xenophobic attacks and constant intimidation. During a meeting at the Ghana High Commission in Pretoria, nationals shared harrowing experiences of fear, economic hardship, and being illegally rendered “irregular” by home affairs authorities despite holding valid permits. One business owner warned that tensions are escalating, with some already planning to hand over their enterprises to South African counterparts to leave peacefully. In a positive development, Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, confirmed that the first batch of evacuated Ghanaians is set to arrive in Accra on Wednesday, May 27. Approximately 300 people are expected on the first of three planned flights, with authorities currently screening registrants. Read the full story here

First Batch of Ghanaians Evacuated from South Africa to Arrive Wednesday

Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, has confirmed that the first group of Ghanaians being evacuated amid renewed xenophobic tensions will arrive in Accra on Wednesday, May 27. Speaking with DW Africa on Sunday, May 24, Quashie stated that authorities are working “around the clock” with South African officials to complete screening and verification processes. The evacuation follows growing safety concerns for foreign nationals in parts of South Africa after fresh reports of xenophobic attacks. The High Commissioner assured that a coordinated departure plan is being finalised to ensure the smooth return of Ghanaian citizens who have registered to leave. Read the full story here

Tension Erupts at Gwira Ampansie After Alleged Shooting of Chief’s Brother by Galamseyers

Tension is mounting in Gwira Ampansie in the Western Region after 46-year-old Mensah Ango, the biological brother of Chief Nana Kojo Mensah, was allegedly shot dead by armed men linked to illegal mining (galamsey). The deceased was reportedly sent by the chief along with linguists to invite leaders of a mining company (identified as PRP) to the palace over concerns about illegal activities on community lands. Upon arrival, armed men providing security for the mining site allegedly opened fire on him. Residents claim the same armed group has previously killed three other persons who opposed illegal mining. The youth have threatened to set ablaze mining equipment in retaliation, while the chief has accused the District Chief Executive of failing to act despite repeated complaints. Read the full story here

IMF Defends Bank of Ghana’s Multi-Billion Cedi Losses as Necessary for Recovery

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has defended the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) massive financial losses, stating that aggressive monetary policy actions were essential to stabilise the economy during Ghana’s crisis period. IMF Mission Chief Ruben Atoyan rejected suggestions that the central bank was “too aggressive,” arguing instead that its actions were “very prudent.” His comments follow the BoG’s announcement of a GH¢15.6 billion loss in 2025, up from GH¢9.49 billion in 2024, with negative equity worsening to GH¢93.82 billion. The losses are largely attributed to the high cost of liquidity sterilisation and tight monetary policy measures implemented to tame inflation and stabilise the cedi. Dr Atoyan explained that during periods of high inflation and elevated interest rates, such costs are unavoidable but necessary for restoring macroeconomic stability and rebuilding investor confidence. Read the full story here

Monday, May 25, 2026. Stay informed with today’s front pages of Ghanaian newspapers, all in one place.