Adnan Adams Mohammed
The World Bank’s International Development Association is ready to disburse US$150 million loan for the West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project 2.
The initiative aims to fortify the socio-economic resilience of coastal communities by implementing effective coastal management practices.
It aligns with the government’s commitment to diminishing the vulnerability of coastal regions and the well-being of local communities along Ghana’s coastlines.
Mr Kwaku Kwarteng, Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament, emphasised the loan’s crucial role in addressing challenges such as tidal waves, particularly in coastal areas like Keta in the Volta Region. Additionally, the house endorsed a separate $200 million loan from the World Bank Group to finance the Ghana Tree Crop Diversification Project.
Some weeks ago, the World Bank empathised with victims of the recent flood disaster in areas along the Volta River following the spillage of excess water from the Akosombo and Kpong dams.
About 30,000 residents were displaced and their farms decimated by the flood waters.
At the 3rd Conference on Fisheries and Coastal Environment in Accra, the Operations Manager of the World Bank in Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, Ms Michelle Keane, said: “We can’t speak about flooding today without conveying the World Bank’s sincere empathy and concern for the ten thousand of people who have been impacted by the recent floods along the Volta River”.
“The World Bank would want to express its readiness to support the government in its response to this crisis”, she said.
She added: “In the longer term, developing a sustainability and risk management strategy for the Volta River and Volta Delta among other areas will be crucial to determine where it is safe for people to live and how their livelihoods can be sustained and grow along the Volta River supported by a healthy ecosystem”.
“We hope that the government and its partners will take full advantage of the $150 million approved by the World Bank for Ghana under the West Africa Coastal Areas Management Programme (WACA)”, she noted.
She said the financing is expected to become available “very soon after parliamentary approval”.