Accra: Squatters and criminal elements occupying project sites are hindering the implementation of key flood mitigation works under the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Programme, according to Member of Parliament for Techiman South, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah.
According to Ghana Web, the former Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development highlighted that some sites earmarked for flood control interventions in Accra have been overtaken by encroachers. This occupation by squatters has prevented contractors and implementing agencies from accessing the areas necessary to continue work on flood mitigation.
Speaking after Parliament's Works and Housing Committee engaged officials from the Ministry and the World Bank over concerns about delays in the programme, Korsah noted that access challenges have become a significant obstacle to the project's progress. He stated, "We were made to understand it has stalled because they're having challenges getting squatters, some of whom are, as they put it, criminals with offensive weapons or implements that have come after them when they go to sites to work, and so that is why the project seems on hold."
Korsah emphasized that funding for the programme had already been secured through the World Bank and clarified that the delays were not due to financial constraints. He questioned why state authorities had been unable to clear these encroached sites to enable critical flood control works to proceed, despite recurring floods affecting communities across the country.
"We have military men who go to drive them away, but we cannot have state security go drive away criminals who have hijacked spots for national programmes of this magnitude, and the whole country is engulfed in floods," he added.
The GARID programme, supported by the World Bank, was launched to strengthen flood risk management and improve resilience in flood-prone communities across the Greater Accra Region.