News
NPP defends Akufo Addo administration’s record on flood control
The Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has defended the flood management record of
former president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration, arguing that it pursued long term solutions to address flooding in Accra.
In a facebook post on Tuesday 30th June 2026, Mr Ahiagbah maintained that flooding in the capital had been a challenge for successive governments and could not be solved through short term emergency responses alone.
According to him, the Akufo Addo administration established a Cabinet Sub Committee in 2017 to develop a comprehensive plan to tackle persistent flooding, particularly in Accra.
He indicated that the government invested more than GH¢550 million over eight years in emergency flood relief, drainage repairs and desilting exercises in flood prone communities.
Mr Ahiagbah highlighted the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development Project (GARID), a US$200 million programme supported by the World Bank, as a key intervention undertaken by the previous administration.
According to him, the project focused on drainage construction, flood mitigation infrastructure, solid waste management, upgrading vulnerable communities and improving disaster preparedness within the Odaw River Basin.
He explained that about US$92 million was allocated for climate resilient drainage infrastructure, US$42.2 million for solid waste management systems and US$58.8 million for upgrading low income communities located in flood prone areas.
Mr Ahiagbah further noted that the government secured an additional US$150 million in 2024 to continue implementing the GARID project after changes to World Bank funding during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He stated that by the end of the Akufo Addo administration, dredging works on the Odaw River had begun, drainage projects were underway at Achimota Abofu and South Kaneshie, while drainage works along the Busia Highway had been awarded.
He added that protection works at Atomic East had been completed and that a modern flood early warning system for Accra was also being introduced.
Mr Ahiagbah described the proposed Atomic East and Atomic West detention ponds as one of the most significant flood control projects planned under the previous administration, explaining that they had reached the final design stage before the NPP left office in January 2025.
He argued that the current administration inherited ongoing projects, secured funding and active contractors, but claimed that many of the projects had slowed down.
According to him, Ghanaians deserved an explanation for the delays, insisting that the previous administration had laid a strong foundation for addressing Accra’s flooding challenges.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) will undertake a nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination exercise in schools from October to December 2026 to protect eligible girls against cervical cancer and other HPV related diseases.
The exercise, organised in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and its partners through the School Health Education Programme (SHEP), will be conducted in two rounds.
The first round is scheduled for October 19 to 23, 2026, while the second will take place from November 30 to December 4, 2026.
In a press release dated October 19, the GHS explained that health workers would visit schools across the country to vaccinate eligible girls aged 9 to 14 who have not yet received the HPV vaccine.
The exercise forms part of efforts to raise awareness about the routine HPV vaccine, increase vaccination uptake and strengthen the country’s routine immunisation programme.
The GHS has called on school authorities, parents, guardians, teachers and community leaders to cooperate with health teams to ensure the successful implementation of the exercise.
The Service reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the health and well-being of Ghanaians, particularly children, through vaccination and other public health interventions.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has held high-level discussions with organisers of the 2026 Global South Academic Forum in Shanghai, seeking to draw lessons from China’s acclaimed rural revitalisation and poverty reduction drive.
The meeting, led by the Forum Chair, Professor Lu Xinyu, explored practical areas of cooperation and knowledge exchange between Ghana and China, with focus on community-driven development, fisheries and aquaculture, local governance, sports initiatives, and infrastructure development.
According to officials, the engagement is part of a broader effort by the Ghanaian government to study tested development models that can be adapted to the local context to promote inclusive growth, empower local communities, and improve livelihoods across the country.
China’s success in lifting over 800 million people out of poverty through targeted rural policies, investment in agriculture and local infrastructure has become a global reference point for developing nations.
The Vice President’s team says insights from the Forum will help inform policy direction, particularly in strengthening decentralised governance, boosting the fisheries and aquaculture sector, and investing in community-level infrastructure and youth sports development.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang is expected to continue engagements with academic and development institutions while in China.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
