CSIDT urges government to redirect GH¢350m flood fund toward prevention
The Center for Social Innovation and Democratic Thought (CSIDT) has called on the government to significantly restructure its GH¢350 million flood response package, arguing that prioritising prevention over emergency relief offers Ghana its best chance of reducing the devastating human and economic cost of flooding in Accra.
In a press brief titled “Accra’s Next Flood: A 5-Point Agenda,” the policy institute said the capital’s recurring floods have become a chronic urban challenge that requires a long-term resilience strategy rather than repeated emergency interventions.
The think tank acknowledged government’s decision to release GH¢350 million from the Contingency Fund following the June 2026 floods but maintained that the current spending framework remains overly focused on responding to disasters after they occur instead of preventing them.
According to CSIDT, the June floods, which dumped 169.2 millimetres of rain within 24 hours, claimed at least 12 lives, displaced thousands of residents and caused more than GH¢5 billion in economic losses. The organisation warned that without fundamental reforms, similar disasters will continue to place enormous pressure on public finances while exposing thousands of residents to avoidable risks.
The government has allocated GH¢200 million for humanitarian assistance and GH¢150 million for flood mitigation projects. While describing the package as better balanced than previous interventions, CSIDT argued that it still leans too heavily towards relief efforts.
Instead, the institute proposed reallocating the fund so that 80 percent is invested in prevention and resilience measures, leaving 20 percent for emergency response. It believes such a shift would produce significantly higher long-term returns by reducing future flood damage and lowering the cost of disaster recovery.
CSIDT attributed Accra’s persistent flooding to a combination of ageing drainage infrastructure, rapid urbanisation, poor land-use planning, blocked drains and the increasing effects of climate change.
The organisation noted that much of the city’s drainage network was designed decades ago for a much smaller population and lacks modern flood-control features such as underground drainage systems, water retention infrastructure, flood-hazard mapping and digital forecasting technologies.
It also identified poor land use, inadequate drainage infrastructure and solid waste blockages as the three leading contributors to flooding across the capital.
As part of its recommendations, the think tank proposed the establishment of a nationally coordinated flood management framework and an Accra Flood Operations Centre to improve planning, public communication and coordination among state agencies.
It further called for stronger enforcement against illegal developments on waterways, improved management of wetlands, regular desilting of drains and greater public transparency in flood management decisions.
Beyond infrastructure, CSIDT advocated sustained public education campaigns, institutionalised nationwide clean-up exercises, stronger partnerships with churches, schools and the media, as well as the deployment of digital early-warning systems capable of alerting residents in flood-prone communities before heavy rainfall events.
The organisation also wants government to embrace technology-driven flood management through artificial intelligence, precision flood prediction models, digital flood maps and real-time SMS and WhatsApp alerts. It further recommended collaboration with universities to develop homegrown engineering solutions while encouraging businesses to channel more corporate social responsibility investments into flood resilience projects.
Among the policy reforms proposed are the expansion of restrictions on single-use plastics, incentives for reusable containers, and an immediate suspension of approvals for new developments in mapped flood-prone areas until comprehensive flood-risk assessments have been completed.
CSIDT argued that Ghana can no longer afford to treat flooding as an annual emergency, insisting that every cedi invested in resilience today would save several more in future disaster losses.
“The proposed allocation represents a strategic shift from responding to floods after they occur to reducing their impact before they happen,” the institute said, adding that targeted investments in drainage restoration, engineering, waste management and modern monitoring systems could deliver measurable improvements in Accra’s flood resilience within a year.
The brief was signed by Eugene Boadu, Executive Director, Center for Social Innovation and Democratic Thought
