By Perdita AGYARKO
Residents of Zenu Atadeka in Kpone Katamanso have raised an alarm over severe flooding in the municipality, pointing accusing fingers at Mr. Kobby, the owner of Downtown Pub, for constructing structures and a defense wall that obstruct the community’s primary waterway and halt a vital drainage development project.
The area has long battled perennial flooding during the rainy season due to fragile drainage infrastructure. To alleviate this long-standing crisis and protect local homes, a prominent benefactor and owner of BO1 TV, Baffour Okatakyie Okumkom, stepped in to rescue the community by personally funding and constructing a proper drainage system (gutter) to allow free water flow.
The project initially brought immense joy and relief to the community when Baffour Okatakyie Okumkom successfully completed the first side of the drainage system. Residents celebrated the milestone, optimistic that the perennial flooding that has long plagued the area would finally become a thing of the past.
However, as the benefactor commenced work on the remaining side of the gutter, the critical intervention was directly opposed by unauthorized private developments. According to community members, Mr. Kobby has already erected buildings that heavily restrict the natural path of the water. In a recent development that has heightened local anxiety, the pub owner has actively opposed the ongoing work by commencing the construction of a massive defense wall.
Rather than protecting the area, this wall is reportedly blocking the remaining active waterway completely, causing heavy rains to back up into residential areas, triggering flash floods, and disrupting the completion of Baffour Okatakyie Okumkom’s ongoing gutter construction.
The actions have sparked widespread anger among residents, who lament that the defense wall prioritizes private property protection at the devastating expense of public safety and community development.
“We are already vulnerable to floods, and these structures are making the area unlivable,” a frustrated resident shared. “Baffour Okatakyie Okumkom, the owner of BO1 TV, completed one side of the gutter and it brought us so much joy because we knew relief was finally here. But now that he is working on the other side, the owner of Downtown Pub is opposing the work, building a defense wall, and diverting the water right back into our homes. It is entirely unacceptable.”
With the heavy rains posing an immediate threat to lives and property, the distressed residents of Zenu Atadeka in Kpone Katamanso are issuing an urgent, crying appeal to the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Hon. Samuel Tetteh Kwashie Morton, and the local Assembly Member to intervene immediately.
The community is calling on the local assembly and leadership to enforce zoning laws, protect the drainage project initiated by Baffour Okatakyie Okumkom, and demolish the obstructing defense wall to restore the natural waterway before disaster strikes.
Efforts to reach Mr. Kobby for a statement regarding the building permits and the engineering rationale behind the defense wall are currently ongoing.
