Public perspective of flood management in the Effutu Municipality in the Central Region of Ghana

Abstract

This work examined flood management in the Effutu Municipality. The main objectives of the research was to examine the causes of flood; the flood management practices; the main challenges to flood management; the factors that promote flood management and flood coping strategies in Effutu. Mixed method approach with sequential research design was employed in this study. A total of 250 respondents were selected from different parts of the municipality using multi-stage sampling. Instruments for data collection included questionnaires, interview guide and observation checklist. Quantitative data were analysed into percentages and weighted mean, whilst qualitative data were analysed into themes based on the research questions and the outcomes derived from the interviews and the observation conducted. The analysis suggests that, many residents thought flood management is as a result of neglect in implementing laws and policies on the part of the Municipal Assembly. It is argued that, financial resource constraints were not the major problems confronting flood risk management in Effutu. There was a general feeling that residents have developed effective coping strategies to deal with flooding. The temporality syndrome and the lack of political will to implement policies were the main challenge facing flood management in Effutu. Residents of flood prone areas only sees the situation as only temporal and something that will not last for a long time. It is recommended that there should be strong political will in enforcing laws governing town planning and development to prevent future occurrence of flood in the Effutu Municipality.