Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies (MMAs) under the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project have been tasked to complement the grants given for the year 2023 with their Internally Generated Funds (IGF).
The 17 beneficiary Assemblies through the GARID had received GhS 420, 000 from the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD) to undertake dredging and desilting works in communities to prevent flooding.
However, some of the Assemblies have said they had exhausted the GARID budget though just
halfway through the year and the rains seemed not to have been over.
During the fourth day of the inspection tour by Mr Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah at the Ga East Municipal, Mr Daniel Okyere, Head of Roads Department, Ga East Municipal Assembly, said, they had dredged three streams and various storm drains.
‘We have done about 1.2 km dredging on the Agbogba Fitting Shop Stream using the GARID fund. The Assembly has to support it with its IGF. Within the Atomic and Haatso enclave, we also dredged 1.2km of stream with the GARID funds. In fact, we have exhausted all the GARID funds,’ he said.
On the last day of the tour, Mr Clement Nii Lante Wilkinson, Chief Executive, Ga West Municipal Assembly, said work done in desilting and dredging was about 75 per cent, adding that ‘as and when we receive more funds, we will do more.’
Mr Simons Sekyim, Chief Executive, Ga North Municipal Assembly, said construction of pipe culvert cost the Assembly S180,000.00 in 2023 and few others activities had been carried out
He said the Assembly was preparing a conditioning assessment report in all drains, liaising with the Ghana Highway Authority to construct a storm drain at Ofankor barrier and would continue to demolish structures along water ways.
Mr Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, Deputy Minister, Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, on the last day, said: ‘The IGF of the various assemblies must come to complement the GARID funds, that is what will hold them all year round. So put some money aside to do these activities.’
He said, ‘the various MMAs would be invited to the
office so we evaluate their responses as far as the destruction of buildings on water ways are concerned,’ after inspecting dredging and desilting works in the Ga West Municipal, Ga East Municipal, and the Ga Central Municipal Assemblies.
Dr Kwadwo Ohene Sarfoh, the GARID Project Coordinator, said the tour had brought to bear the nature of challenges facing Accra and how to resolve it.
He said the limitations the project had faced indicated that it would require the assemblies to be more creative and exercise their statutory powers selflessly to bring development.
Source: Ghana News Agency