The signing of the MoU followed an official visit to Houston by offi­cials of the Ministry of Works and Housing and GHA to share ideas on flood risk management strategies in the Harris County and Ghana.

The delegation led by the Minister for Works and Housing, Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye also paid a courtesy call on the Mayor of Houston, Mr Sylvester Turner and met officials of the Harris County Housing Authority to discuss their model of affordable housing provision, among others.

In a brief statement during the signing ceremony, Mr Asen­so-Boakye praised the Harris County Flood Control District for blazing the trail in delivering nature-based solutions adding “your approach and technology will be of great assis­tance to the Ministry and the GHA in our efforts to tackle the perennial flooding challenge in Ghana.”

The Acting Chief Executive Offi­cer of the GHA, Dr John Kissi, not­ed that Accra and the Harris County shared common flood risk challeng­es and welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with the HCFCD in the exchange of knowledge related to flood resilience and nature-based solutions.

Executive Director, HCFCD, Dr Tina Petersen expressed her joy over the signing of the MoU and said she had no doubt that it “marks the beginning of an exciting journey of collaboration and learning for our respective institutions.”

The HCFCD is a special-purpose vehicle established in 1937 by the Texas Legislature in response to floods that devastated the Hous­ton area in 1929 and 1936 and had since been undertaking major flood mitigation projects to enhance flood resilience in the Harris County.

GHA, formerly Hydrological Services Department (HSD) was established following the passage of the GHA Bill 2022 by Parliament on July 29, 2022 and subsequent assent to, by the President on September 12, 2022.