Squatters, armed criminals frustrating Accra flood control efforts - Korsah

Member of Parliament for Techiman South, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, has alleged that squatters and criminal elements occupying project sites are hindering the implementation of key flood mitigation works under the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Programme.

According to a report by citinewsroom.com on June 10, 2026, the former Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development said some sites earmarked for flood control interventions in Accra had been taken over by encroachers, preventing contractors and implementing agencies from accessing the areas to continue work.

Speaking after Parliament’s Works and Housing Committee engaged officials from the Ministry and the World Bank over concerns about delays in the programme, he said access challenges had become a major obstacle to the project's progress.

“We were made to understand it has stalled because they’re having challenges getting squatters, some of whom are, as they put it, criminals with offensive weapons or implements that have come after them when they go to sites to work, and so that is why the project seems on hold,” he said.

Stakeholders meet over urban planning after Accra hit by floods, transportation crisis

Korsah stressed that funding for the programme had already been secured through the World Bank and that the delays were not linked to financial constraints.

He questioned why state authorities had been unable to clear encroached sites to enable critical flood control works to proceed, despite recurring floods affecting communities across the country.

“We have military men who go to drive them away, but we cannot have state security go drive away criminals who have hijacked spots for national programmes of this magnitude, and the whole country is engulfed in floods,” he added.

The GARID programme, supported by the World Bank, was launched to strengthen flood risk management and improve resilience in flood-prone communities across the Greater Accra Region.

MRA/VPO

Meanwhile, watch as Joffery Nortey shares his career journey from comedy to content creation