Flooding in Accra is not new. It has challenged governments for decades, and no serious administration can pretend such a deep problem can be solved with seasonal sympathy or reactive press tours after the rains.
What distinguishes governments is whether they see the crisis as a one-time emergency or as a structural development challenge requiring engineering, planning, and ongoing investment.
The Akufo-Addo–Bawumia government chose the latter.
In 2017, President Akufo-Addo established a Cabinet Sub-Committee with a single mandate: to create a comprehensive plan to tackle Ghana’s persistent flooding, prioritizing Accra. It was the first national effort to move beyond just clearing gutters annually and toward a permanent solution.
That commitment was supported with funding and consistency. Over eight years, the government allocated more than GHS550 million to emergency flood relief, drainage repairs, and desilting in flood-prone communities, year after year, because flood prevention requires maintenance, not just photo opportunities.
The core of this strategy was the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development Project, GARID, a $200 million partnership with the World Bank focused on the Odaw River Basin. GARID moved away from the traditional approach of clearing gutters after disasters and instead introduced an integrated program that included drainage construction, flood-mitigation engineering, solid waste reform, community upgrades, and disaster preparedness, all working together.
The funding allocations demonstrate the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government’s commitment to solving the problem. About $92 million was allocated to climate-resilient drainage and flood-mitigation infrastructure. $42.2 million was allocated to solid waste management systems, including transfer stations and disposal facilities, because blocked drains caused by uncollected refuse pose a significant flood risk. $58.8 million was invested in upgrading vulnerable, low-income communities in flood zones. When COVID-19 prompted a global reallocation of World Bank funds, the government did not allow GARID to falter. In 2024, it secured $150 million to keep the initiative moving forward.
By the time the NPP left office, progress was visibly underway. Dredging of the Odaw River started in February 2024. Drainage construction was active at Achimota-Abofu and South Kaneshie. The Busia Highway drainage project had been awarded and mobilized. Protection works at Atomic East were already completed. For the first time, Ghana was also deploying a modern Flood Early Warning System for Accra, with equipment installed, service providers contracted, and safe zones identified, so that vulnerable communities could receive warnings before disaster struck, rather than only hearing about it afterward.
The most transformative project, the Atomic East and Atomic West Detention Ponds, was designed to capture stormwater from higher elevations and reduce downstream flooding across large parts of Accra. It had reached the final design stage and was being actively procured when NPP left office in January 2025. This was set to be the most impactful flood-control measure.
The evidence speaks for itself. The Akufo-Addo–Bawumia government did not ignore Accra’s flooding crisis. It approached it with planning, engineering, international collaboration, sustained financing, and tangible infrastructure development.
What Ghanaians deserve now is honesty about what has happened since. The current government did not inherit a void. It inherited momentum, secured financing, had active contractors, and a clear plan in motion. However, these inherited projects have noticeably slowed, and the question is why. A government that inherits solutions and allows them to stagnate cannot blame its predecessor for failing to build on the momentum and the legacies it inherited. The NPP built momentum around addressing Accra’s flooding crisis. Ghanaians are entitled to know why the projects are now stalled.
Source: Richard Ahiagbah, NPP’s Director of Communications
