Deputy Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development (MLDGRD), Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah, has inspected some drainage works in Accra and has charged the beneficiary Assemblies with regular desilting to make the investment worthwhile.

He emphasised the importance of maintaining and improving drainage infrastructure for the safety and well-being of Municipal residents, saying that “regular maintenance of drains is of the utmost importance to mitigate the risks of flooding and safeguard our communities.”

The Deputy Minister paid visits to the Ayawaso Central, North, East, and West Assemblies.

The drainage and desilting work for Greater Accra Assemblies is part of the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project, a World Bank-funded project to reduce flood risk and improve solid waste management in the Odaw River basin.

The $200 million project grant will improve access to basic infrastructure and services in flood-prone low-income communities in the Greater Accra region, benefiting 17 Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies (MMAs) and 2.5 million people.

He charged the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies with protecting the river’s buffer zone.

Hon Adjei Mensah Korsah, Member of Parliament for Techiman South, praised the Ayawaso East and West Assemblies for the grant’s utility.

As a result, he cautioned other beneficiary assemblies to use the grant wisely in order to have an impact on the people.

"Money allocated to assemblies must produce positive results. I will encourage the assemblies to ensure that the allocations are used for the intended purposes and that the quality of work is commendable.”

He disclosed the Ministry would work with the assemblies to reprioritize the actual areas to look at.