Finance Ministry responds to claims of $65 million GARID fund diversion

A Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Finance, Frederick Amissah, has alleged that the Akufo-Addo administration redirected nearly half of the funds drawn under the World Bank-funded Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project to finance COVID-19-related expenditure instead of flood resilience interventions.

Speaking on JoyNews' PM Express on Monday, July 6, 2026, Amissah said the World Bank-funded project was worth $350 million, with $137 million already disbursed, but claimed that a significant portion of the money was diverted during the previous administration.

He said almost half of the amount drawn was used for pandemic-related activities.

"The project was $350 million. Out of that, $137 million had been drawn. Nearly half of the $137 million went into COVID expenditure; it was redirected to COVID," he stated.

According to Amissah, the amount redirected totalled $65 million.

He further disclosed that while $60.8 million of the transferred funds had been accounted for, approximately $4.2 million remained unretired.

"Even the $65 million that was transferred for the purpose of COVID, only $60.8 million has been successfully retired. About $4.2 million remains unretired," he said.

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Amissah argued that the diversion was unnecessary, insisting that government had alternative sources of financing to respond to the pandemic, including the Stabilisation Fund established during President John Mahama's first administration, support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and facilities from the African Development Bank (AfDB).

He maintained that Ghana's debt burden was worsened because much of the COVID-19 response was financed through loans rather than grants.

Providing a breakdown of the expenditure, Amissah said about $2.8 million was spent on fumigation activities, while $60.8 million was distributed to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.

He added that more than $1 million went into quarantine feeding.

Amissah also questioned an additional $3 million expenditure recorded as support for COVID-19 activities, saying its purpose remained unclear.

"There was something that was described as support for COVID-19 activities of $3 million and we don't know what that is," he said.

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