Parliament has approved a $150 million loan facility from the World Bank after a prolonged disagreement between the two caucuses of the House.
The approved amount is intended to fund the ongoing Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project, which aims to address flooding issues in the capital.
The Minority in Parliament had requested the speaker to allow the House to revote, but the application was not entertained.
The Speaker then proceeded to announce the passage of the loan.
The minority group claimed that the government mishandled a previously granted borrowing facility of $200 million for the GARID project. This was the basis for their concern in supporting the new loan.
The GARID facility aims to help stabilize the Cedi and fund the construction and dredging of drains, including the Odaw in the Greater Accra Region.
“If the whole Odaw [river] has not been drained for two years and $200 million has been allocated and the Odaw river has not been drained, desilted or dredged I don’t see why we need an additional 150million again,” a member of the Works and Housing Committee, Emmanuel Bedzrah said.
However, The Majority secured 137 votes while the Minority had 132.
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