The Minister for Works, Housing, and Water Resources, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, has announced that the government has taken decisive action to tackle the perennial flooding challenges in Kumasi.
He was speaking at a stakeholder validation workshop with the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council and top officials of selected Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies within the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area.
The Minister revealed that the move forms part of President John Dramani Mahama’s reset agenda to improve urban resilience and safeguard livelihoods.
“In line with President Mahama’s reset agenda, we are taking decisive steps to provide long-term solutions to flooding in Kumasi,” Hon. Adjei said
According to Hon. Adjei, the Ministry of Works and Housing has engaged two international consultancy firms—Deltares from the Netherlands and INES from Spain to conduct technical studies that will inform the design of a comprehensive flood mitigation project for Kumasi and its surrounding areas.
Deltares will undertake a basin-wide study of the Wiwi, Sisa, and Aboabo river basins, which are the main catchment areas contributing to flooding in the metropolis.
The study will focus on identifying the root causes of flooding and proposing early-stage solutions as a first step toward long-term interventions.
INES, on the other hand, will conduct an in-depth flood vulnerability assessment in Asewase and Aboabo, two communities highly prone to both flooding and poverty.
This assessment will recommend targeted mitigation measures to protect residents and reduce flood disasters in the beneficiary communities.
The Minister explained that the findings from both studies will be used to develop the Kumasi Resilient Project, a major initiative aimed at safeguarding the city from recurring flood disasters.
A Senior Urban Development Specialist at the World Bank and task team leader for the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project, Mr. Santiago Ezequiel Arias, pledged the bank’s support for the initiative.
He indicated that the World Bank is committed to partnering with the Government of Ghana to ensure effective flood control measures not only in Kumasi but across the country
Earlier in the day, the delegation from the Ministry of Works and Housing paid a courtesy call on the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene.
The Minister commended President Mahama for making flood control in the Ashanti Region a top priority and assured the government of the unwavering support of Kumasi residents to guarantee the successful implementation of the project.
Participants at the workshop welcomed the initiative and expressed optimism that the planned studies and subsequent interventions would significantly reduce the city’s vulnerability to flooding.
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