MMDAs prioritising permit fees over proper planning enforcement – Physical Planners Association President

July 7, 2026

• Ghana recorded a record GH¢5.2 billion in financial irregularities in 2025, a 156% increase from the previous year and the highest since 2021.
• Approximately 92% (GH¢4.8 billion) of these irregularities stemmed from unpaid taxes, rather than procurement or payroll issues.
• Over GH¢3 billion of the tax irregularities were attributed to outstanding tax obligations from just ten state institutions during 2024.
• The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) was the largest defaulter, failing to remit approximately GH¢1.4 billion in taxes.
• The report highlights significant tax compliance challenges within public sector institutions, despite government's focus on broader domestic revenue mobilization.

July 7, 2026

• The Netherlands, despite being a low-lying country highly vulnerable to flooding, has become safe and prosperous due to centuries of proactive, integrated water management.
• Ghana, with more favourable geography, experiences more frequent and destructive flooding due to a lack of preparation and treating water management as a reactive rather than a permanent national priority.
• The key lesson for Ghana is to embed flood resilience into all aspects of national planning, including designing infrastructure with drainage in mind, considering flood risk in housing, and protecting critical systems.
• This requires enforcing planning laws, empowering local assemblies, preserving natural floodplains, updating drainage systems for modern rainfall patterns, and citizens avoiding indiscriminate dumping.
• Climate change intensifies the urgency, making proactive water management a critical national priority for Ghana to mitigate rising sea levels and extreme rainfall, ultimately being less costly than disaster recovery.

July 7, 2026

• The Convention People's Party (CPP) has offered its youth wing to assist government efforts in flood prevention, including dredging and waste removal.
• The party proposed forming a bipartisan committee with NDC and NPP representatives to coordinate flood relief for victims in a transparent manner.
• CPP expressed concern over large volumes of uncollected waste clogging gutters and drainage channels, exacerbating flood risks.
• They called for urgent measures to prevent further flooding, noting Ghana is in its peak rainy season and past disasters were avoidable.
• The CPP appealed to Ghanaians to volunteer in community clean-up activities to improve water flow and prevent obstructions.