Minister of Works and Housing, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, has directed contractors working on major drainage systems in Accra to accelerate construction in order to reduce the city’s recurring flooding challenges.
His directive followed a working visit to key sites under the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project.
For many households in Accra, the start of the rainy season brings annual anxiety as flooding continues to disrupt lives and damage property. Despite numerous interventions by successive governments, lasting solutions have remained elusive, with major projects—such as GARID—yet to reach full completion.
During the inspection tour, the Minister and his technical team visited drainage works at Kaneshie, Weija SSC, and other critical areas. While some contractors were praised for delivering quality work and maintaining steady progress, others were cautioned after the inspection team flagged slow performance that could jeopardize project timelines.
“We first went to the Kaneshie/Accra academy stretch of which the job has delayed but they’ve assured us that they’re going to give their work schedule and then the Ministry is going to ensure that they comply with that and we’re not going to leave any stone unturned.
“We’re going to ensure that the work is done for the good people of Ghana to get the benefits of it because we all know what happens when they are flat.
It’s a big issue for the government because as part of our reset agenda for the country we want to see that it will get to a point that we won’t even be seeing flats in Accra,” the Works and Housing minister noted.
Addressing journalists after the tour, Minister Adjei expressed serious concern about the delays, stressing that the government would not entertain any setbacks that prolong the exposure of vulnerable communities to flooding.
“The contractor is on time, on schedule. He started his work in February 2025. He’s supposed to complete in July 2026 and as of now like he indicated he’s done about 96% meaning that he’s way ahead of schedule. There’s another problem downstream as we go so there’s a termination of this particular drain downstream which needs to be continued and therefore we will require additional resources to continue so that we have a complete resolution of this flooding issue that we have,” he added.
The GARID project, funded by the World Bank, is one of Ghana’s largest and most comprehensive flood-mitigation initiatives. Once completed, it is expected to significantly enhance drainage capacity and improve resilience across flood-prone areas of the capital.
We have reduced the risk of flooding in Accra – GARID project coordinator
