By Daniel Bampoe
Member of Parliament for Akim Swedru, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, has criticised the government over its decision to terminate the services of Dredge Masters on the Odaw River desilting project, arguing that the move may have contributed to the devastating floods that recently submerged large parts of Accra.
Reacting to the latest flood disaster that claimed lives, displaced hundreds of residents and caused extensive destruction to homes, businesses and public infrastructure, Nyarko said government should have prioritised continuity of the drainage improvement works instead of discontinuing the contract over concerns surrounding the project.
According to him, even if the current administration had reservations about how the project was being executed, the appropriate approach would have been to engage the contractors, review the project and negotiate improvements that would ensure value for money while allowing the work to continue.
He argued that Dredge Masters possesses specialised dredging equipment and technical expertise that few, if any, local companies currently have to undertake large-scale desilting operations on major waterways such as the Odaw River.
“Government shouldn’t have withdrawn the services of Dredge Masters for the desilting of the Odaw River project. Even if government had concerns about the project and how it was being carried out, they could have sat down with them to see how best they could deliver value for money,” he stated.
Nyarko further revealed that after government withdrew Dredge Masters from the project in 2025, another company associated with the contractor allegedly volunteered to continue dredging sections of the Odaw River at no cost to the state.
However, according to him, the initiative could not be sustained because the replacement company lacked the specialised machinery and technical capacity required to undertake the large-scale dredging works.
He maintained that no local company currently possesses the expertise and equipment comparable to that of Dredge Masters for such complex drainage projects.
The legislator used the latest flooding to criticise what he described as the increasing tendency of successive governments to discontinue projects initiated by their predecessors for political reasons.
According to him, excessive partisanship has resulted in the suspension or abandonment of ongoing projects that could otherwise benefit the country.
“I keep saying that it’s the partisan politics we do and the wrongful suspensions of projects by previous governments that’s pushing new governments into taking bad decisions at the expense of the state and the citizenry,” he argued.
His comments come as Accra continues to assess the impact of one of its worst flood disasters in recent years.
The torrential rains submerged major roads and residential communities across the Greater Accra Region, bringing commercial activities to a standstill and prompting extensive rescue operations by the Ghana National Fire Service, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces.
Government has since announced a series of immediate and long-term interventions, including emergency relief for affected residents, plans to demolish structures obstructing waterways, restore drainage channels and develop a new city outside Accra to reduce pressure on the capital.
President John Dramani Mahama has also directed the Minister for Finance to release funds from the Contingency Fund to support flood victims while promising a more comprehensive strategy to address the perennial flooding challenge.
Despite these interventions, Nyarko believes greater attention should have been paid to maintaining critical flood-control projects already underway rather than interrupting them because of a change in government.
