China Afri Mall in Koforidua Floods After 45 Minutes of Rain, Commuters Stranded

• Parts of the newly opened China Afri Mall in Koforidua were inundated after less than an hour of rainfall on Tuesday night
• The flooding exposed longstanding drainage problems at key intersections near the facility in the New Juaben South Municipality
• Regional authorities had earlier directed the mall's management and traditional leaders to reconstruct narrow culverts before operations began

Flooding struck parts of the newly opened China Afri Mall in Koforidua, Eastern Region, on the night of Tuesday, 10 November, after approximately 45 minutes of heavy rainfall submerged surrounding roads and left hundreds of commuters stranded.

The deluge exposed deep-seated drainage deficiencies around the commercial facility in the New Juaben South Municipality, with floodwaters overwhelming roads and key junctions in the vicinity.

Three locations were particularly hard hit: the traffic light intersection adjacent to the China Afri Mall, the stretch fronting Newlands Hospital, and the area around the well-known Dadis Bar. All three had previously been identified as flood-prone zones.

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Motorists and pedestrians who rely on the corridor for their daily commute found themselves unable to navigate the waterlogged roads, with vehicles struggling to pass through the inundated sections.

Citi News reported that hundreds of people were inconvenienced by the situation, with many voicing frustration over the failure to resolve what they described as a recurring problem.

Culvert Directive Allegedly Ignored

At the centre of the controversy is an earlier directive from the Eastern Regional Minister and the Regional Security Council, who had instructed traditional authorities and the management of China Afri Mall to reconstruct narrow culverts at the intersection before the facility began operations. The reconstruction was considered essential to improving stormwater flow and reducing flood risk in the area.

According to Citi News, the directive was not complied with before the mall commenced trading. The apparent non-compliance has drawn sharp criticism from road users, with some pointing directly at the traditional authorities for disregarding the instructions issued by regional officials.

Questions have also been raised about why enforcement mechanisms were not activated to ensure compliance before the mall opened its doors, and what accountability measures apply to the various parties involved in the management of the facility.

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The incident has renewed calls from residents and road users for the drainage infrastructure around the China Afri Mall to be urgently upgraded to prevent a repeat of the disruption during future periods of rainfall.

Source: YEN.com.gh