The Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has accused the Mahama-led administration of slowing down key flood control interventions under the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project, while shifting blame to the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government for recent flooding challenges.
His comments come in response to claims by Sagnarigu MP, Atta Issah, who alleged that the current government had spent more on flood control under GARID in two years than the NPP did in five years.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah dismissed the figures as misleading, insisting that the project remains fully funded but has suffered delays due to what he described as expenditure controls introduced by the Ministry of Finance.
He argued that these measures have slowed the release of funds to contractors working on critical drainage and flood mitigation projects.
“Those days when the NDC could just tell lies and throw figures and allegations out there and confuse people are over.
They have been in power for one and a half years, and they have introduced measures that have stalled the project,” he said.
The former Information Minister further stated that the NPP has deliberately refrained from politicising the recent floods, noting that the party’s 2024 presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, had urged that focus be placed on supporting victims rather than engaging in political exchanges.
“We don’t intend to do politics with this. Dr Bawumia, when he got on the ground, the first thing he said was no politics.
Let’s focus on helping people,” he added.
However, he warned that the NPP would respond if the issue continues to be politicised.
“If you go into partisan politics, we will show you that the evidence is clear that you have stopped the project from going on,” he cautioned.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah also rejected suggestions that GARID funds had been misapplied under the previous administration, arguing that the current government has had sufficient time to investigate such claims if it believed there were irregularities.
He maintained that available funds under the project were meant to be disbursed to contractors but were not being released in a timely manner, thereby affecting progress on flood control works.
“The money that is available, you are supposed to apply it to contractors who are working. You are not doing that because you want to constrain expenditure,” he said.
He further urged government to prioritise urgent flood mitigation measures, including clearing drains, accelerating contractor payments, and providing relief items such as food, water and mosquito nets to affected communities to prevent disease outbreaks.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah concluded by appealing for an end to political blame games over the floods, insisting that national attention should remain on recovery and prevention efforts rather than partisan disputes.
