World Bank says Finance Ministry fiscal controls delayed GARID project

The World Bank has attributed significant delays in the implementation of Ghana's Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project to fiscal controls introduced by the Ministry of Finance, warning that funding restrictions have slowed critical flood mitigation works despite the project being fully financed.

The findings, contained in the Bank's latest implementation update released in May 2026, come just days after the devastating floods of June 29 claimed at least 12 lives and renewed national debate over Accra's persistent flooding challenges and the pace of investment in drainage infrastructure.

According to the World Bank, the project's implementation performance has now been downgraded from "Moderately Satisfactory" to "Moderately Unsatisfactory" due largely to prolonged cash flow constraints.

The implementation of GARID has been significantly constrained by fiscal measures introduced by the Ministry of Finance during 2025," the report stated.

The $350 million GARID Project is one of Ghana's flagship urban resilience programmes aimed at reducing flood risks, improving drainage infrastructure, strengthening solid waste management and enhancing climate resilience across metropolitan and municipal assemblies within the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area.

The project comprises five major components:

• Flood risk management and drainage infrastructure
• Solid waste management improvements
• Urban upgrading initiatives
• Institutional coordination and project management
• Contingency emergency response

Although the World Bank says progress towards the project's overall development objectives remains broadly on track, implementation of several major infrastructure works has fallen significantly behind schedule.

The Bank noted that one important component of the project—the Flood Early Warning System (FEWS)—is fully operational.

It also reported that solid waste collection in underserved communities has exceeded annual targets.

However, the report has raised fresh concerns because no public flood warning was issued before the June 29 floods, despite the early warning system being operational.

The floods inundated several communities across Greater Accra, destroyed homes and businesses, displaced thousands of residents and claimed at least 12 lives.

The absence of a public warning has prompted renewed questions about the utilisation and effectiveness of the early warning infrastructure during one of the country's worst flooding events in recent years

According to the World Bank, detailed engineering designs have been completed for nearly all approved civil works, with the exception of the Ayidan landfill project.

However, actual construction has progressed much more slowly than anticipated.

Several contractors remain behind schedule, while decisions on restructuring or terminating persistently underperforming contracts have yet to be taken.

The Bank attributed much of the slowdown to financing restrictions imposed during 2025.

The implementation update states that the Ministry of Finance introduced ceilings on project disbursements and temporarily swept GH¢13.8 million from the project's designated account.

Those measures severely constrained project cash flow, leading to:

• Delayed payment of Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs)
• Outstanding contractor payments
• Slower execution of drainage and civil works
• Increased operational risks across the project

Although the World Bank emphasised that sufficient overall financing remains available to complete the project, it warned that interrupted funding flows have created additional risks, including contractor claims, cost overruns, price adjustments, procurement delays and setbacks to resettlement activities.

Following discussions between the Government of Ghana and the World Bank, several corrective actions have been introduced.

According to the report:

• A $10.5 million withdrawal application was processed in February 2026—the first since November 2023.
• Government submitted a restructuring request to allow funds to be reallocated across expenditure categories.
• The previously withdrawn GH¢13.8 million was returned to the project account in March 2026.

Despite these measures, the World Bank says liquidity challenges remain unresolved.

These actions have partially eased liquidity constraints but have not fully addressed the financing gap affecting works implementation."

The report reveals that the Project Coordination Unit estimates funding requirements of approximately $40.8 million for 2026.

However, the Ministry of Finance has allocated only about $17.5 million, leaving a significant financing shortfall.

In addition, a request seeking commitment authorisation for $79.8 million worth of civil works contracts remains pending approval.

The Ministry has indicated that additional fiscal space may become available during the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review, with further commitment authorisations expected as public finances improve.

The prolonged funding constraints are reflected in the project's overall disbursement performance.

As of April 14, 2026, only $137 million, representing approximately 40 percent of the project's total $350 million financing, had been disbursed.

The World Bank noted that virtually no project disbursements occurred for approximately 16 months, between November 2024 and March 2026, because fiscal controls restricted access to project funds.

Funding resumed only in April 2026 after government restored financial flows to support implementation.

The World Bank cautioned that unless funding becomes more predictable, additional delays could undermine the successful completion of the GARID Project.

Continued delays in securing authorizations pose a risk to maintaining implementation momentum and avoiding further contract disruptions," the report warned.

The Bank indicated that once stable financing is restored, it may undertake a comprehensive review of the project to reassess implementation timelines, evaluate the financial impact of the delays and determine what adjustments are necessary to ensure the GARID Project achieves its development objectives before its scheduled closure.

With Accra once again experiencing deadly floods, the report is expected to intensify calls for faster implementation of critical drainage infrastructure and stronger coordination between government agencies and development partners to improve the capital's resilience to climate-related disasters.