This is not “act of God.” An act of God is unforeseeable. Weija Dam spilling in June is scheduled. Odaw overflowing when a 2-hour rain hits is predictable if the drain is 70% blocked. The law calls that foreseeable harm. Government is liable for foreseeable harm it fails to prevent.
Why Lawsuits Matter: Because Nothing Else Has Worked
We’ve tried press conferences. We’ve tried “Operation Clean Your Frontage.” We’ve tried World Bank loans for dredging. Yet each year, the same kiosks return to the same drains two weeks after demolition because there’s no prosecution of Assembly officials who took bribes to allow them.
A lawsuit hits where it hurts: the Assembly’s budget. When KMA pays GHS 5 million in damages to Aboabo flood victims, the next DCE will think twice before ignoring the Chief Physical Planner’s report.
Every June, the story repeats. Kaneshie becomes a river. Odawna overflows. Aboabo in Kumasi, Kasoa, Adenta, Weija, Takoradi Market Circle – all underwater. Lives lost. Homes gone. Businesses ruined.
Then officials appear on TV. “It’s climate change.” “Citizens are dumping refuse.” “This was an act of God.”
But walk through these flood zones in the dry season and you’ll see the real culprit: buildings, kiosks, churches and warehouses sitting directly on drains, wetlands, and waterways. Structures with no permits. Structures the law says should not exist. Structures the state has a duty to demolish.
If government agencies know these illegal buildings are blocking water, and they refuse to act for years, then under Ghanaian law, the government can and should be sued for the floods that follow. Here’s why.
1. The Law Is Clear: Government Has a Duty to Keep Waterways Clear
Ghana’s laws don’t leave flood control to chance. The duty is written in black and white:
a. Local Governance Act, 2016 Act 936
Section 12 gives Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies the power and duty to “provide for the overall development of the district.” Section 97 specifically mandates MMDAs to “prevent the construction of buildings or structures in waterways, flood-prone areas and other unauthorized places.” If an Assembly sees a building on a drain, it must issue a notice to stop work and demolish if ignored.
b. National Building Regulations, 1996 L.I. 1630
Regulation 13 forbids building on “watercourses, drainage reserves, and areas liable to flooding.” Regulation 45 gives District Assemblies power to demolish any building that contravenes the regulations without compensation. No permit can ever legalize a structure on a waterway.
c. Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016 Act 925
Section 91 criminalizes development without a permit. Section 113 empowers Assemblies to “remove, pull down or alter” any unauthorized structure. Section 121 makes it an offence for officials who fail to enforce the law.
d. Constitution 1992
Article 36(9) directs the state to “take appropriate measures needed to protect and safeguard the national environment.” Article 41(k) places a duty on citizens to protect public property, but the enforcement duty lies with the state. Article 33 allows citizens to sue in the High Court when their rights to life and property are threatened by state inaction.
Put together: The law doesn’t say MMDAs may remove buildings on waterways. It says they must. Failure is not just poor policy. It’s a breach of statutory duty.
2. The Legal Case: This Is Negligence, Not “Act of God”
To sue government for flooding, victims must prove negligence. The test from Donoghue v Stevenson, applied by Ghanaian courts, has four parts:
1. Duty of care: Did the Assembly have a duty to prevent flooding? Yes. Act 936 and L.I. 1630 say so.
2. Breach: Did they breach it? If AMA has known since 2010 that the Odaw is blocked at Circle by illegal structures, and no demolition occurred despite budget for “dredging”, that is breach.
3. Causation: Did the breach cause the flood? Hydrological Services Dept reports repeatedly show 60-80% of Accra’s floods are due to reduced drain capacity from encroachment, not rainfall volume alone.
4. Damage: Did citizens lose lives and property? June 3, 2015, killed 152 people. Each June since, thousands lose homes.
This is not “act of God.” An act of God is unforeseeable. Weija Dam spilling in June is scheduled. Odaw overflowing when a 2-hour rain hits is predictable if the drain is 70% blocked. The law calls that foreseeable harm. Government is liable for foreseeable harm it fails to prevent.
The Precedents: Courts Have Punished State Inaction Before
a. The Adjei v Accra Metropolitan Assembly cases: Following repeated Kaneshie floods, traders sued AMA for failing to demolish structures on the Kaneshie drain. The High Court held that AMA’s failure to enforce L.I. 1630 was negligent.
b. June 3 Disaster Settlements: After the 2015 GOIL fire and flood, families sued AMA, NADMO and the state. While many cases were settled out of court, the Attorney-General’s office accepted that regulatory failure was a factor. That’s why the “Odaw Drainage Basin Improvement Project” was launched – an admission that previous inaction was wrong.
c. CHRAJ v Accra Metropolitan Assembly, 2018: CHRAJ ruled that AMA’s failure to remove structures on waterways violated citizens’ right to a clean environment under Article 41. CHRAJ ordered demolitions within 90 days.
d. International precedent: In SERAC v Nigeria, the African Commission held that a state’s failure to prevent third parties from polluting and blocking waterways violated the right to a healthy environment. Ghana is bound by the African Charter.
4. “But Citizens Built Them” Is Not a Defence
Government lawyers often argue: “We didn’t put the buildings there.” True. But the law makes Assemblies the “planning authority”. You don’t blame a parent because a child stole. You blame the parent if they watched the child steal every day for 10 years and did nothing.
Section 52 of Act 936 says MMDAs must conduct “routine inspections” to detect unauthorized development. If a 4-storey building appears on the Densu River in 6 months, the Assembly either didn’t inspect or colluded. Both are breaches.
5. So Who Do You Sue and How?
1. Who: Not “Government of Ghana” in abstract. You sue the Attorney-General under the State Proceedings Act, 1998 Act 555, plus the specific MMDCE and Assembly. For Odaw floods, that’s AMA. For Aboabo, that’s KMA.
2. How: First, give the A-G 30 days’ written notice of intent to sue. Skip this and your case dies.
3. What remedy: You can ask for:
– Damages: Compensation for lost property, business, injury.
– Mandamus: Court order forcing the Assembly to demolish all structures on waterways in 60 days.
– Declaration: That the Assembly’s inaction is unconstitutional.
Flooding in Ghana is no longer a natural disaster. It is a man-made disaster enabled by state neglect. The law gives citizens tools beyond lamenting on radio.
Until an Assembly is bankrupted by negligence damages, or a DCE is jailed under Section 121 of Act 925 for failing to enforce the law, the buildings will stay on the waterways. And we will be back here next June, counting bodies.
The rain will fall. That’s nature. But whether it becomes a flood is a policy choice. And policy choices have consequences in court.
Key Laws Cited:
– 1992 Constitution, Articles 33, 36(9), 41
– Local Governance Act, 2016 Act 936, Sections 12, 52, 97
– National Building Regulations, 1996 L.I. 1630, Regs 13, 45
– Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016 Act 925, Sections 91, 113, 121
– State Proceedings Act, 1998 Act 555
Alexander Afriyie, Supervising Editor, Ghanacrimereport.com and Ghanatalk.com