A geologist from the University of Ghana (UG), Dr. Prince Ofori Amponsah, has identified heavy construction works as the cause of rocks falling from the Aburi mountains.

Reports have emerged of rocks tumbling down from the Aburi hills onto the road, causing inconvenience for motorists using that route.

Dr. Amponsah explains that despite the use of wire mesh to shield the rocks, human activities have contributed to the loss of vegetation cover, thereby exposing the fragile materials.

“These rocks are not quite stable. Initially, they shouldn’t have been a problem because we have vegetation cover on them. However, due to the construction that we have done, we have exposed these weak materials. And these weak materials that we have exposed over time are still going to come out of where they are originally, because of the initial weakness they have. I can say that some level of mesh solution has been put on those rocks.

“There is a wire mesh that we use to protect sections of the rocks. However, once we have the road there and then we have degradation of land and people continuously building on top of the mountain and exposing these weak rocks to the surface,” Dr. Ofori Amponsah explained.

He urged the government to intervene promptly to prevent future disasters.

“This problem is not going to stop until there is an intervention by the government, so that when people are building, they will follow building codes and standards. Also taking into account the kind of geology we have there, this problem is going to persist,” the geologist stated.