Local Assemblies urged to collaborate, manage flood risks in Accra

Accra, June 13, GNA – Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies (MMAs) along the Odaw River basin have been called to collaborate effectively among themselves and manage the flood risks in their areas.

Mr Dan Botwe, Minister, Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, made the call during the second day of his inspection tour of the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project beneficiary MMDAs.

The $200 million World Bank funded GARID project is to improve flood risk and solid waste management in the Odaw River basin and as well improve access to basic infrastructure and services in flood prone low-income communities in the Greater Accra region within 17 Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies.

The Minister together with Dr Kwadwo Ohene Sarfoh, GARID Coordinator, Mr George Cyril Bray, Dean, Greater Accra Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives and other officials inspected major drainage works on Tuesday 13, at the Korle Klottey Municipal and Okaikoi North Assemblies and Accra Metropolitan Assembly.

Mr Botwe said flooding had become a pressing national issue that required a collaborative action to plan and implement effective flood control measures that will protect lives and properties of citizens.

He said the Government through the GARID Project would soon establish an Inter-Jurisdictional Coordination Management Committee (ICMC) for the Odaw Drainage basin and the process had already commenced.

The Committee, which would comprise the Project beneficiary Assemblies and other relevant state agencies, would be responsible for joint planning, implementation, management, and financing of flood control interventions.

The Minister on Wednesday, 13, also called on residents in the capital to change their behaviour towards waste disposal when he visited the Ayawaso Central Municipal, Ayawaso West Municipal, Ayawaso North Municipal and Ayawaso East Municipal Assemblies to assess ongoing desilting works.

After engaging with community members, he urged them to “make conscious choices regarding their building sites to help reduce the perennial flooding in the national capital.”

“For flood mitigation to succeed, citizens must change their behaviour. Our prospects as a city are grim if people do not change their attitudes towards solid waste management and their choices of building sites,” Mr Botwe said.

The Local Government Ministry had disbursed $1,300,000 out of the over $3,250,000 earmarked for the Seventeen GARID project beneficiary Assemblies to desilt local drains and other drainage improvement works.

Mr Philip Acheampong, the GARID Project Coordinator, Ayawaso Central Municipal Assembly, said, challenges such as undue interference of powerful people in the work of law enforcement teams and delays at the court in the prosecution process.

Mr Acheampong said the Assembly had planned to invest GH¢3.18 million into drains construction, GH¢370,000 and GH¢294,679 into desilting and dredging in 2023.

GNA

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