From the month of April through to June this year, the capital has been “celebrating its annual flood festival.” Once again, flood water has been swallowing roads, homes and livelihoods.
The peak so far this year was reported on June 3, 2026, when the flooding almost engulfed the entire city. For many Ghanaians, this year’s June incident rings a bell. It was exactly eleven years after the June 3, 2015 disaster that claimed more than 150 lives and left an indelible scar on the nation’s collective memory.
However, despite the annual promises, commemorations and political declarations that “never again” would such a tragedy occur, Accra flooded once more.
But interestingly, the most disturbing part of the story is not that Ghana lacks a plan. It is that Ghana already has one.
For six years, the country has had access to a US$350 million World Bank-backed intervention specifically designed to reduce flood risks, improve waste management and strengthen urban resilience across the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area. The Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project was launched to tackle many of the very problems that continue to leave communities vulnerable whenever heavy rains fall.
But according to a recent World Bank restructuring document, the project itself has become a victim of Ghana’s fiscal challenges, bureaucratic delays, and apparent lack of urgency.
The result is a troubling paradox as floodwaters continue to rise every rainy season, critical flood-control infrastructure remains unfinished, contractors struggle to get paid, and communities earmarked for protection continue to wait.
A Project Starved of Funds
According to the World Bank, the GARID Project has been significantly constrained by fiscal measures introduced by the Ministry of Finance during 2025. These measures included funding ceilings on project disbursements and the temporary sweeping of GHS13.8 million from the project’s designated account.
This brought immediate consequences on the project. The Bank noted that cash-flow constraints led to delayed contractor payments, accumulation of unpaid certificates, and a slowdown in civil works execution.
Even though the project retains sufficient overall financing, interruptions in funding flows have resulted in operational setbacks, contract management difficulties and delays in resettlement-linked works.
In simple terms, the money existed on paper, but the work on the ground slowed down because the funding could not reach where it was needed. For a city that floods almost every year, that should alarm everyone.
Six Years, 40 Percent Utilisation
Perhaps the most startling revelation is how little of the available resources have actually been deployed. Six years after commencement, only about 40 percent of the US$350 million financing has reportedly been utilised.
Meanwhile, several cornerstone interventions remain incomplete. People close to the project reveal that detention ponds intended to absorb excess stormwater have not been constructed. The Ayidan landfill project remains unfinished. Wastewater sewer systems planned for communities such as Nima have not been completed.
These are critical infrastructure investments that determine whether rainwater drains safely away or ends up inside homes, schools, shops and hospitals. Every unfinished drain today potentially becomes tomorrow’s flood zone.
Thousands Waiting for Compensation
An expert also reveals that there is also the human cost extends. According to the World Bank, implementation of the project’s Resettlement Action Plan has progressed much more slowly than anticipated because of funding-related constraints.
More than 3,370 Project Affected Persons have been profiled, but compensation payments have not yet been made. As a result, households have not been physically relocated, creating bottlenecks for linked civil works and increasing tensions at the community level.
This means that the years of delay represent years of uncertainty, delayed livelihoods, and postponed hopes of safer living conditions for the affected.
The Untouched US$150 Million
Even more concerning is the fate of an additional US$150 million financing package approved in 2023. Although the financing became effective in June 2024, the World Bank reports that the project has not received the necessary Ministry of Finance authorisation to disburse against it.
In other words, Ghana secured additional funding to accelerate flood resilience efforts, yet the money remains largely inaccessible while flood risks continue to grow.
This raises a critical question: How can a city that experiences devastating floods almost every year fail to prioritise the release of funds intended to prevent them? How can flood resilience remain a national priority in speeches but become expendable during budget adjustments?
The Cost of Fiscal Consolidation
To be fair, Ghana’s economic crisis, debt restructuring programme and IMF-supported fiscal consolidation have placed enormous pressure on public finances. The government has had to make difficult choices.
But the GARID experience exposes a deeper policy dilemma. When fiscal tightening affects flood-control infrastructure, the country may save money in the short term only to incur larger losses later.
Every major flood destroys homes, businesses, roads and public infrastructure. Families lose property. Informal traders lose income. Insurance claims rise. Government spends additional resources on emergency response and recovery.
A Warning from the World Bank
The World Bank has now formally sounded the alarm. Following a February 2026 implementation support mission, the Bank noted that while corrective actions have begun, including the processing of a US$10.5 million withdrawal application, returning the previously swept GHS13.8 million, and submitting a restructuring request, the measures have only partially eased the financing constraints.
The project still faces significant funding gaps. The Project Coordination Unit estimates financing needs of approximately US$40.8 million for 2026, yet only about US$17.5 million has been allocated.
Additionally, authorisation requests worth nearly US$80 million for civil works contracts remain pending. The warning is that prolonged delays threaten implementation momentum and risk further disruption of critical works.
The Bottomline: The June 3 Test
Every year, June 3 arrives with solemn speeches, memorial events and renewed promises. Yet remembrance without action has become an annual ritual. The tragedy of Accra’s flooding is no longer one of insufficient knowledge. The causes are well known. The engineering solutions are understood. The financing has largely been secured.
What has been missing is sustained political urgency and policy consistency. The GARID Project represents one of the most comprehensive flood resilience interventions ever undertaken in Ghana. Yet six years after its launch, critical components remain unfinished while communities continue to suffer the consequences of inaction.
As the experts say, sometimes disasters are not always natural. Sometimes they are the predictable outcome of delayed decisions, stalled projects and misplaced priorities.
And until Ghana treats flood prevention with priority and urgency, June 3 risks remaining not merely a date of remembrance, but an annual reminder of a nation with a plan but fails to implement it.
