As flooding continues to wreak havoc across the country, JoyNews has obtained a copy of a conversation between the Works and Housing and Finance Ministries over the latter's request for over 900 million cedis to combat floods.
According to JoyNews, the Finance Ministry has failed to react to repeated requests for cash to allow the Works and Housing Ministry to resolve the persistent problem.
The letters intercepted by JoyNews indicate attempts by the Works and Housing Ministry to get money released so that building work may begin, but no responses have been received.
President Akufo-Addo announced a package of steps on May 25, 2022, to halt Accra's recurring floods, including fines for the Metropolitan, Municipal, and State governments.
and the District Chief Executives are accountable for any breaches that result in flooding damage.
In addition to these actions, the President established a desk in his office to track their execution.
The Works and Housing Ministry had previously requested the Finance Minister for the issuance of "Eighty-Eight Million, Three Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC888,300,000.00) for the implementation of the 2021 Emergency National Flood Control Programme to address the serious flooding challenges being experienced acros Ghana in a letter dated June 4, 2021 with the title "Application for commencement certificate for the 2021 emergency national flood control programme" in a letter titled "Application for commencement certificate for The letter, signed by sector minister Francis Asenso Boakye, referred to a presentation to Cabinet on the state of the country's drainage infrastructure on August 5, 2021, in which it detailed the urgent need to embark on the 2021 and future National Flood Control Programmes to improve the country's drainage infrastructure and improve its resilience to flooding, especially in light of climate change impact exacerbating an already bad situation.
The letter outlined the goals of the financing request, which included:
I Reduce the amount of flooding that occurs in the communities on a regular basis. I Prevent vehicular traffic from being disrupted during severe rains.
(ili) Establish a system for transporting grey water in a safe manner.
(iv) Minimize damage to infrastructural structures and infrastructure
(v) Reduce the number of individuals displaced in flood-prone regions.
Despite the dangers that flooding has presented to individuals living in flood-prone areas in recent weeks, the Finance Ministry has failed to respond to the request from the Works and Housing Ministry.
The Works and Housing Minister, dissatisfied with the progress, issued a reminder on August 11, 2021. The following are excerpts from the letter:
"On August 5, 2021, the Ministry submitted to Cabinet the current situation of our country's drainage infrastructure, emphasizing the urgent necessity to begin the 2021 and future National Flood Control Programs to repair the country's drainage system and strengthen our flood resilience." The unfavorable effect of climate change, as stated in the Ministry's presentation, is compounding an already dire situation, thus the need of urgency.
We would like to politely bring your attention to the fact that in the flood control program, time is of the essence. Our consultant will need enough time to finish the comprehensive design and then go through the procurement procedure before beginning implementation.
Each project's construction will take a few months to finish. These investments must be finished by the start of the next big rainy season in April 2022 if we are to make good use of them. That gives us with only eight months to complete all of the above-mentioned procedures.
In light of the foregoing, we kindly submit this reminder for the issuing of a Commencement Certificate to commit the Government of Ghana to the sum of GH888,300,000.00 for the implementation of the 2021 Emergency National Flood Control Programme, which is broken down as follows:
(I) GHC793,500,000.00 for construction work
Excavation and Desilting Works (II) – GHC 94,800,000.00′′
A second notice from the Works and Housing Ministry, dated June 2, 2022, has also gone unanswered.
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