The $200 million GARID Project, approved in 2019, is designed to enhance flood risk management and solid waste handling in the Odaw River basin. It also aims to improve access to basic infrastructure and services in low-income, flood-prone communities in the Greater Accra region.

In an interview on Citi TV’s The Point of View with Bernard Avle, Dr Sarfoh explained the ongoing dredging operations aimed at mitigating flooding.

“The dredging contract is ongoing, if you take all of that together, I will say that in terms of infrastructure that we have to do on the basin itself, we probably passed 30%. About 30% is ongoing, not completed,” he stated.

When asked about potential project delays, he acknowledged some setbacks, including the COVID-19 shutdown.

“There are circumstances, yes some part of it delayed, partly there was COVID-19 shut down, right after we started the work, some of the funds had to be re-written to support COVID-19.”

Dr Sarfoh noted that the redesign of the Odaw River basin would not be completed before the onset of the rainy season, as certain construction activities cannot be carried out during this period.

“No, we won’t, these are long term contracts. The contract period for some of them are 18 months to 2years. It’s a big scale construction, not small scale. There are some parts you can work, there are others you can’t during rains, you have to wait. Some of it, you can divert the flow and do the work,” Dr Sarfoh explained.

He justified the construction delays in some areas, explaining that the government lacked the funds to pay compensation. As a result, arrangements were made with banks to use a portion of the World Bank loan proceeds for compensation payments.

“The covenant between World Bank and government in terms of the loan agreement requires that government pays compensation before you proceed. Unfortunately, we’re all aware of the financial circumstances we have. We had to arrange with the banks to allow us use proceeds of the loan, part of it to support the compensation.”