Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies — local government bodies tasked with infrastructure, sanitation, energy efficiency, and climate adaptation projects across Ghana's 16 regions.
… Speaking in an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show, Mr Adu Asare said Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have focused mainly on issuing stop-work notices to developers instead of implementing comprehensive planning measures for communities. …
President John Dramani Mahama has proposed a stronger partnership between traditional authorities and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to improve accountability and ensure effective implementation of development projects. …
… According to him, although Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have engaged registered waste management companies to provide sanitation services, many residents continue to rely on Aboboya operators because their services are cheaper. …
… Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, July 8, during a discussion on “Ghana’s Sanitation Problems”, Mr Fiadomor explained that Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have engaged registered waste management companies to handle sanitation services. …
… He explained that although permits may have been issued for some developments, the responsibility for ensuring compliance lies with the respective Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs). …
… According to her, these factors continue to weaken the ability of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to enforce development controls, resulting in buildings being constructed in unauthorised areas, including flood-prone zones. …
The National President of the Local Government Service Association of Physical Planners, Gifty Nyarko, has accused some Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) of prioritising revenue from building permits over effective planning and development control. …
… He said one of the key drivers of poor sanitation in the country is indiscipline, and urged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to enforce sanitation bylaws more strictly. …
… He called on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), landlords, developers, architects and citizens to make the Green Compounds standard a voluntary national practice beginning this rainy season. …
… He called for the strict enforcement of laws regulating the sale of alcohol and tobacco products, directing the Ghana Police Service and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to arrest and prosecute drinking bar operators and vendors who sell alcoholic beverages …
The government launched the National Urban Policy (2026–2035) and National Slum Upgrading and Prevention Strategy (2026–2035) to address flooding, housing shortages, congestion and unplanned settlements. A review of the previous urban policy, introduced in 2012, showed implementation reached only about 50 per cent of its intended outcomes, with gaps in affordable housing, urban financing, research, data systems and institutional coordination.
The government launched the National Urban Policy (2026–2035) and National Slum Upgrading and Prevention Strategy (2026–2035) to address flooding, housing shortages, congestion and unplanned settlements. A review of the previous urban policy, introduced in 2012, showed implementation reached only about 50 per cent of its intended outcomes, with gaps in affordable housing, urban financing, research, data systems and institutional coordination.
Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang engaged with Ghanaians in Potomac, Maryland, acknowledging their role in the national economy. She highlighted the government's efforts to stabilise macroeconomic conditions, citing improved economic growth, eased inflation, and currency stability.
Atiwa East MP Abena Osei Asare has called on the government to redirect public funds toward projects with direct impact on people's lives rather than simply spending money. She said government officials should engage with citizens directly, noting that official economic figures do not reflect the realities facing ordinary Ghanaians.
The Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability has warned that erratic rainfall, prolonged dry spells, and failing crops in the Upper West Region threaten livelihoods and human survival, urging Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to take the lead in climate adaptation and mitigation projects. The Upper West Regional Minister challenged district leaders to integrate climate action into their development plans and budgets as an economic and governance emergency.
A Joy Online opinion piece argues that in Ghana, disasters are often treated as political opportunities rather than investigations into systemic failures, with politicians using scenes of sympathy and relief distribution to generate goodwill while underlying causes of floods, fires, and collapses remain unresolved.
The Energy Commission has completed a nationwide capacity-building programme for local government officers aimed at integrating energy efficiency requirements into Ghana's building permit and development control processes. The programme, supported by UNEP and the Ministry of Local Government, equipped participants from Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to serve as Energy Efficiency Champions within their respective assemblies.
The Energy Commission has concluded a nationwide training programme for local government officers aimed at integrating energy efficiency requirements into Ghana's building permit and development control processes. The training, supported by UNEP and the Ministry of Local Government, equipped participants to serve as Energy Efficiency Champions within their respective assemblies.
The Center for Local Governance Advocacy has called on all 261 MMDAs to review their 2025 Public Financial Management Compliance League Table results and implement time-bound improvement plans. The 2025 assessment recorded a national compliance score of 56.20%, exceeding the 50% benchmark, with coverage improving to 100% across all 16 regions.
Ghana Environmental Health Practitioners Association has called for an Environmental Health Council to regulate professional standards, licensing, accreditation and ethics within the profession. The Association also urged government to strengthen the environmental health workforce by recruiting and deploying qualified graduates to address staffing shortages across Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.
A World Bank report on sustainable cities in Ghana finds the country requires an estimated $37.2 billion annually to fund infrastructure needs in energy, telecommunications, transport, and water—a gap that exceeds current government capital expenditure by almost 40 times—raising concerns about accommodating rapid urban growth and sustaining economic development.
Flooding in Greater Accra has cost over GHS 6.3 billion between 2015 and 2025, with damage to SMEs, public infrastructure, and residential property, while Ghana loses an estimated USD 200 million annually to natural disasters. The article argues that the persistence of these losses demonstrates flooding is fundamentally a governance challenge requiring coordinated institutional action rather than merely an environmental problem.
Flooding in Ghana's Greater Accra Metropolitan Area has become a recurring governance crisis, causing economic losses exceeding GHS 6.3 billion between 2015 and 2025, with damages to SMEs, public infrastructure, and residential property. The article examines how fragmented institutional responsibilities undermine coordinated flood management responses.
Urban flooding in Ghana, particularly Greater Accra, has become a persistent governance crisis rather than a seasonal event. Between 2015 and 2025, flooding in Greater Accra caused economic losses exceeding GH₵ 6.3 billion, with the article arguing that fragmented institutional mandates and lack of coordinated action perpetuate the problem.
The Local Government Minister has rejected claims that Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives are responsible for failure to desilt major storm drains, stating that the Department of Urban Roads holds the mandate and funds for such work. He noted that MMDAs receive only 10 per cent of the District Assemblies Common Fund for sanitation, making large-scale desilting impossible alongside other sanitation obligations.
President John Dramani Mahama has directed the immediate operationalisation of all Zoomlion waste transfer stations in Greater Accra to improve refuse collection and waste management following recent floods. The six transfer stations, constructed over nine years ago but left unused, will allow waste collectors to discharge refuse locally for compaction and transport to final disposal sites, rather than travelling long distances to existing facilities.
The Akwatia MP argues that Ghana's recurring sanitation and flooding challenges stem not from a lack of environmental laws but from weak enforcement of existing regulations by state institutions, despite acknowledged public indiscipline.
Former Sekondi MP Andrew Egyapa Mercer has criticised the government for failing to take proactive measures to prevent flooding, arguing that the Anti-Flood Task Force did not organise nationwide clean-up exercises or release funds to assemblies to desilt drains before the rainy season, and that officials only became visible after lives were lost and properties destroyed.
According to the 2025 Auditor-General's Report, ten District Assemblies across ten regions collected GH¢106,358,608.73 in Internally Generated Funds but spent only GH¢2,431,064.85 on capital projects, falling GH¢18,840,656.45 short of the legally required 20 per cent allocation to roads, water, healthcare, and schools.
The National Service Personnel Association (NASPAA) has called on national service personnel to participate in a two-day national cleaning exercise declared by the Presidency on Friday, July 10, and Saturday, July 11, to support post-flood recovery efforts in the seven affected regions. The exercise, themed "Our Actions, Our Future: Cleaning Ghana after the floods," aims to desilt choked drains, sweep major roads, and clean public spaces including markets and lorry parks.
Former Adentan MP Kojo Adu Asare attributes Accra's recurring flooding to poor leadership, weak community planning, and failure to enforce existing regulations. He argues that MMDAs issue stop-work notices to developers but lack comprehensive planning measures, and that both citizen behaviour and lack of leadership enforcement at assembly level drive the flood challenge.
President John Dramani Mahama has proposed stronger partnerships between traditional authorities and MMDAs, with chiefs playing a more active role in monitoring local development projects. He suggested that MMDAs hold annual stakeholder meetings with chiefs to brief them on project implementation, account for resource use, and receive input on development priorities.
Residents' preference for cheaper tricycle waste collectors (Aboboya operators) over approved waste management companies is driving illegal dumping and complicating sanitation efforts in Accra and other major cities, according to the President of the Chamber for Local Government.
The Chamber for Local Governance president blamed tricycle operators (Aboboya) for illegal waste dumping in Accra and major cities, saying some households prefer them over franchise waste management companies because they are cheaper, leading waste to unauthorised disposal sites instead of approved facilities.
The National General Secretary of the Local Government Service Association of Physical Planners said more resources and technology must strengthen planning systems and address illegal developments contributing to flooding. He noted that many assemblies have prioritised revenue generation over planning functions, and flagged rapid urban expansion in Accra where developments increasingly occur in unsuitable areas.
The President of the Local Government Service Association of Physical Planners attributes the rise in unauthorised developments across Ghana to political interference, traditional influence, and disregard for planning regulations, which weaken MMDAs' ability to enforce development controls. She says assemblies bear ultimate responsibility for regulating physical development within their jurisdictions.
The National President of the Local Government Service Association of Physical Planners says some Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies prioritise revenue from building permits over effective planning and development control, weakening enforcement of building regulations and contributing to uncontrolled development in urban areas.
Parliament's Sanitation Committee chair John Oti Bless has urged MPs to participate in Ghana's National General Cleaning Days on July 10–11, 2026, in seven flood-affected regions, saying MPs should demonstrate leadership in improving sanitation in their constituencies. President Mahama declared the dates and directed all appointees, including ministers and MMDCEs, to join clean-up activities as part of post-flood mitigation efforts.
The International Association of World Peace Advocates Ghana Chapter says that excessive tiling of residential and commercial compounds prevents rainwater from soaking into the ground, forcing water into streets and drains. The organization has launched the Green Compounds Initiative, recommending a 40:60 standard where compounds maintain at least 40 percent vegetation or porous surfaces and no more than 60 percent hard tiling or concrete.
The Okyenhene, speaking at the 2026 Kyebi Ohum Festival, described recent flooding in Accra as a warning that Ghanaians must change their behaviour towards the environment to prevent future disasters. He condemned indiscriminate disposal of refuse into drains and rivers, construction on waterways, and other activities obstructing natural water flow, urging Ghanaians to reconnect with nature and revive traditional environmental conservation values.