By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi
Accra, March 27, GNA – Some 17 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Greater Accra Region have received Gh¢ 7, 156, 000.00 to improve drainage infrastructure under Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project.
This follows the disbursement of a total of GHS¢ 3, 746, 800 in 2022 for the same goal.
The beneficiary Assemblies are expected to use the grant to improve the operation and maintenance (desilting) of drainage and solid waste management in communities along the Odaw River channel.
Mr Dan Botwe, Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLDGRD), who disclosed this at the Ministry, said each Assembly would have a grant of GHS 400, 000.
He commended the GARID Project for its support for the Assemblies and urged them to make good use of the grant to curb incidences of flooding in Accra.
“I entreat you to use the fund for the purpose it is meant for. My Ministry and the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council have put strict monitoring measures in place to ensure efficient use of the Grant,” the Minister said.
He said the engineering challenges of the drainage system were being addressed by the Works and Housing Ministry and that it was imperative that the Assemblies executed their GARID core duty and that their performance would be assessed.
Mr Botwe said he would in the next few weeks, pay a working visit to the respective Assemblies and inspect the progress of the work the grant had been given for.
The beneficiary MMDAs are the Accra Metropolitan Assembly; Ablekuma Central, North, and West Municipal Assemblies; Adentan Municipal Assembly; Ayawaso Central, East, North, and West Municipal Assemblies.
The rest are the Ga Central, East, North, and West Municipal Assemblies; La Dade Kotopon Municipal Assembly; La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Assembly; Okaikoi North Municipal Assembly; and Korle-Klottey Municipal Assembly.
Dr. Kwadwo Ohene Sarfoh, the GARID Project Coordinator, said, a total of UD $3,250,000 had been earmarked for disbursement to the 17 project beneficiary Assemblies over a 5-year period.
He said: ” A significant proportion of the grant for last year which was
the first tranche was used by the Assemblies for desilting priority drains they had identified and had reduced the incidence of flooding in various localities of the City where the Odaw River traverses.”
Dr Ohene Sarfoh said part of the grant would be channeled to institutional development, including condition assessments of the drains in the flooding hotspots, support to the drainage maintenance units, procurement of logistics, and training.
The GARID project is being implemented by Government of Ghana with credit facility of UD $ 200 million from the World Bank and aims at improving drainage, solid waste management and infrastructure in priority flood-prone informal settlements within the Odaw River Basin.
GNA