The Member of Parliament for Techiman South and Ranking Member on Parliament’s Works and Housing Committee, Honourable Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah, has rejected allegations by the majority in government concerning the implementation of the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project. The former Works and Housing Minister described the claims as inaccurate and argued that available World Bank reports did not support the accusations being made against the programme.
Honourable Korsah argued that the allegations needs to be assessed against the reports produced by the World Bank during the implementation of GARID. He cited a September 2024 report and another issued in May 2025 as important documents for understanding the financial and administrative status of the project.
According to the Techiman South MP, neither report identified wrongdoing or misuse of funds in the implementation of GARID. Instead, he indicated that the World Bank had drawn attention to the failure to release funds needed for the completion of projects under the programme.
“These are heavy untruths, complete falsehoods. At nowhere does the World Bank flag any wrongdoing or misuse of money.”
Honourable Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah
Honourable Korsah argued that the position of the World Bank creates a sharp contrast with the claims being made by the Finance Minister. He suggested that the government needs to address the issue of delayed funding for the project instead of shifting attention towards accusations unsupported by the donor’s reports.
The Ranking Member also questioned the level of coordination among government institutions involved in the programme. He noted that the Attorney General, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Works and Housing and other agencies needed to work together on matters involving a major public project.
From his perspective, the absence of a coordinated approach could create conflicting accounts about the same programme. He argued that officials sitting within the same government structure should possess a common understanding of the issues surrounding GARID.
The parliamentary process, Honourable Korsah indicated, also provided a different picture of the allegations. He recalled a meeting held on July 7 involving the Works and Housing Committee, the Ministries of Finance, Works and Housing and Sanitation, among other institutions.
The meeting, chaired by Honourable Isaac Adongo, focused on issues concerning the payment of consultants under the programme. The Finance Ministry, represented by its Deputy Minister, did not raise the allegations of financial wrongdoing now being discussed publicly.
Instead, the former minister explained that the concern presented at the meeting involved plans to terminate payments to consultants. He therefore questioned the emergence of a different account outside Parliament after the matter had been discussed before the relevant committee.
The issue, he suggested, extends beyond the GARID project itself. It also touched on the manner in which government institutions communicate about major national programmes and the consistency of their positions in public and parliamentary settings.
World Bank Funds Remain Unreleased As GARID Projects Await Progress
Honourable Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah also accused the Ministry of Finance of failing to release funds available for the GARID programme while government officials raise allegations about the project’s financial administration. The Techiman South MP claimed that more than $200 million remains in an account controlled by the Finance Ministry for the implementation of GARID.
The Ranking Member linked the delayed release of funds to the slow progress of projects under the programme. He recalled that the Works and Housing Committee raised the issue with the World Bank as far back as October 2025.
Honourable Korsah explained that the World Bank repeatedly indicated that loans provided for the programme were not being used at the required pace. The position, he noted, placed responsibility on the authorities controlling the release of the funds.
“The World Bank has been consistent: We have given you loans, and unfortunately, you are not using them.”
Honourable Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah
Turning to the administrative expenses cited in the allegations, the former minister argued that project vehicles, staff training, travel and other operational costs formed part of the approved structure of donor funded programmes. He explained that a project implementation unit requires staff and logistical support to carry out its work across different locations.
For the Techiman South MP, such expenditure could not automatically be presented as evidence of financial abuse. He pointed out that the World Bank participated in the design and approval of the project, including the administrative arrangements required for its implementation.
The parliamentary committee, he added, also warned that changes to the approved structure of a World Bank funded programme required engagement with the institution. Honourable Adongo, he recalled, told the Deputy Finance Minister that government could not unilaterally remove or alter components of the programme.
Any major change, according to the Ranking Member, requires a review by the World Bank. The position means that decisions affecting consultants and other elements of the project needed to follow the conditions attached to the funding.
Beyond the financial administration, Honourable Korsah pointed to contractors who waited for extended periods for payment. He linked the delays to the slow movement of work under GARID and argued that the World Bank’s reports provided evidence of a funding problem.
The former minister therefore challenged the Finance Minister to produce any World Bank report that identified financial wrongdoing in the programme. He argued that the public deserved to see the specific document supporting the allegations.
At the centre of the dispute, he suggested that there was a clash between the approved structure of a donor funded project and the political presentation of its administrative costs. Vehicles, training and staff support, he explained, forms part of the practical requirements of implementing a project across multiple communities.
READ ALSO: Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination Registration Begins August 1
