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Accra to mark 10th Anniversary of June 3rd Disaster with Climate Summit and Citywide Clean-Up
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), in collaboration with youth-led environmental groups, will mark the 10th anniversary of the June 3 Twin Disaster with a citywide climate summit and sanitation campaign aimed at spotlighting the urgent need for climate action and urban resilience.
The announcement was made in a statement signed by the Head of Public Affairs of the AMA on behalf of the Mayor of Accra, Michael Kpakpo Allotey.
According to the statement, the commemorative summit, scheduled for Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at the Omanye Aba Hall of the AMA at 10:00 a.m. would be held under the theme: “June 3, A Stern Reminder of Climate Inaction,”
and reflect on the infrastructural, environmental, and governance failures that contributed to the 2015 tragedy while mobilising support for ongoing adaptation measures.
The AMA in the statement stated that the summit was being organised in partnership with Youth Climate Advocates under Phase II of the Youth Climate Action Fund (YCAF), a programme aimed at empowering young people to contribute to climate solutions in their communities.
“Beyond remembrance, this year’s June 3rd anniversary presents a vital opportunity to recommit to concrete climate actions, the summit will be accompanied by targeted climate awareness campaigns in schools, stakeholder engagements, and a major citywide clean-up exercise led by YCAF micro-grantees,” the statement read.
The clean-up exercise, according to the AMA, would focus on desilting gutters and clearing plastic waste from markets and adjoining streets across Accra to enhance community participation in sanitation and deepen environmental consciousness at the grassroots level.
In line with its long-term climate adaptation strategy, the Assembly also outlined a series of ongoing interventions aimed at addressing the root causes of urban flooding and strengthening the city’s resilience to extreme weather.
The statement indicated that the Assembly had intensified routine maintenance of tertiary and secondary drains across the three sub-metropolitan areas: Okaikoi South, Ablekuma South, and Ashiedu Keteke.
Notable areas such as the Korle Woko Electoral Area and London Market have already seen significant interventions.
“The AMA has covered key flood-prone areas in Okaikoi and Ablekuma South, and work is ongoing in Ashiedu Keteke…This is helping reduce the likelihood of intermediate flooding during the rains,” the statement added.
The Assembly disclosed that it was working closely with the Hydrological Services Authority to dredge the Odaw Channel—Accra’s main storm water conduit—to ensure unimpeded water flow during rainfall.
Additionally, the statement noted that the Assembly was leveraging the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project to undertake large-scale desilting of critical drainage basins.
These operations, the statement noted was intended to boost the hydraulic performance of the city’s drains and avert water stagnation and overflows during downpours.
“As part of the broader flood mitigation framework, plans are also underway to collaborate with the Urban Roads Department to expand key drainage systems from 0.6 meters to 0.9 metres to accommodate growing volumes of runoff due to rapid urbanisation,” the statement stated.
The statement urged residents, stakeholders, and community leaders to actively participate in the summit and related activities to build a cleaner, safer, and climate-resilient Accra.
“We must all take collective responsibility for the safety and future of our city,” the statement concluded.
Women in Sustainability Africa (WiSA) successfully holds the African Women’s Health and Wealth Conference (AWoHW) with a call for research and investment into women’s healthcare.
It also called for robust financial systems and encouraged women to generate wealth as well as prioritise their health.
The conference held at the Shippers House in Accra on Thursday, March 5, 2026, was on the theme, “Championing Inclusive healthcare and finance systems for African women and girls.”
Speaking on behalf of Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Sabia Kpekata, Programme Officer at the Ministry, said, Financial inclusion remains one of the most critical pathways to women’s empowerment and achieving sustainable development.
According to the minister, it is for this reason that the government continues to support initiatives that expand access to affordable credit, strengthen women-led enterprises and build financial literacy.
“Institutions such as MASLOC, the Women’s Development Bank and other targeted financing mechanisms play a critical role in closing the financial inclusion gap,” she added.
Against this backdrop, she stated that the passage of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121), further strengthens this agenda. By mandating progressive representation of women in decision-making spaces across public and private sectors, the Act ensures that women are not only beneficiaries of financial and healthcare systems, but architects of those systems.
“Women must sit at the policy table where budgets are approved, health priorities are set, and economic policies are designed. This is why the Ministry calls on all stakeholders to push for the effective implementation of the Affirmative Act,” she stated.
Furthermore, she noted that the conference called on everyone to move inclusion from talk to action, incorporating it in budgets, laws, health systems and corporate policies.
She added that the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection is committed to partnering with stakeholders to build inclusive healthcare and financial systems that serve every woman and girl, regardless of location, income, or social status.
“Let us strive to build a Ghana where opportunity is not determined by gender and where systems are designed to uplift, protect and empower,’ she noted.
Addressing the gathering, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, said many women suffer from mental health issues as a result of health financing, adding that this is why President Mahama has initiated the Accra Reset to tackle issues relating to women.
Additionally, she commended the Ghana Enterprises Agency for consistently promoting women entrepreneurs.
Nana Oye Bampoe further touched on some government initiatives targeted at women, adding that the government is intentional about women’s empowerment.
On his part, the convener, Nana Yaa Serwaa Sarpong, said, “Today is not just a conference – It is a declaration. It is a declaration that African women and girls will no longer stand at the margins of systems that determine their health, their wealth, and their future.”
According to her, it is a declaration that sustainability is not a slogan for them, rather, it is a strategy, a commitment and a promise.
She said the greatest resource any organisation, community, nation or continent has is its human resources, adding that the continent’s economic prosperity depends on the quality, productivity and capacity of its labour force, including men, women and young people.
The convener noted that where both genders have equal opportunities and operate at near optimal levels, there will be greater economic Expansion and output for the prosperity of all Africans
Additionally, she stated that to drive inclusive economic growth, reduce poverty, amongst others, there is a need for an intentional and clear alignment to economic and social dynamics in specific contexts.
“This will in turn positively impact the involvement and contributions to drive the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the overall economic prosperity of Africa,” she added.
She further stated that as 2030 approaches, WISA which officially launched on May 1, 2025 in Partnership with the UN Global Compact on behalf of all Women of Africa and of African Descent, will mark a new beginning to accelerate growth towards the closure of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) gaps, by being deliberate to center women at the heart of implementation and compliance.
The Chief Executive Officer of GoldBod Jewellery, Getrude Emefa Donkor, said, Saving alone cannot make one financially sound, adding that investing and having other sources of income is the best way to go.
She also provided some tips for women, calling for discipline in spending, and consistency in saving behaviour, as well as inculcating the habit of budgeting.
WiSA is a Coordinating Pan-African Organization that works with other CSOs, NGOs, Corporate Institutions, local and International Development Organizations and individuals to bring all women, men, young people and women groups together (especially those at the grassroots level) to foster the achievement of the SDGs across Africa.
WiSA stands for the development of new perspectives and catalytic ideas towards accelerating growth for the achievement of the SDGs, including closing the Gender Inequality gap.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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Promoting Gender Equity In Governance: Felicia Adjei highlights importance of proportional representation
The Member of Parliament for Kintampo South, Felicia Adjei, has made a statement in Parliament on the importance of proportional representation in promoting gender equity in governance.
Speaking in parliament yesterday, she noted that the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121) was a bold step toward encouraging women’s participation, but laws alone cannot guarantee fairness if the electoral system does not support inclusion.
She explained that proportional representation, particularly through Gender-Balance or “zebra” lists where parties alternate between male and female candidates, could help ensure equal opportunities for women in leadership.
The Kintampo MP was of the view that such a system promotes fairness by design rather than leaving representation to chance.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
