President John Dramani Mahama, following the devastating floods, has announced plans to develop a new city outside Accra to shift major public institutions out of the capital while creating a new urban centre where people can live and invest.
According to John Mahama, Ghana’s long-term solution to Accra floods is to decongest, but noted that there is a need for immediate interventions by improving drainage systems and providing relief to affected victims.
Mahama noted that the lasting solution to Accra is to reduce the growing concentration of everyone wanting to build in Accra, businesses, and government institutions in Accra.
Speaking after the aerial assessment of communities affected by the June 29, 2026, Mahama stated, “But ultimately, the other solution will be to decongest Accra. And that’s why we’re planning that we move some of the city out, that is, the major government departments, and then also create a new centre of growth so that our people will start building outside Accra in a new city instead of everybody looking for some space in Accra”.
Mahama disclosed that the proposed city forms part of a broader national development agenda which should be implemented over approximately 20 years.
According to John Mahama, experts are currently preparing the design and master plan for the project, adding that once that process is completed, land will be allocated for residential, commercial, and institutional purposes to encourage development outside the capital.
He added, “That’s a long-term solution. As I said, it’s a 20-year project. They are still working on the designs. Once they do that, we’ll demarcate the land. People can start buying plots if they like, and can start building houses. We’ll do the roads and bring the water and electricity so that it eases the pressure on Accra as a city”.
Also, President John Mahama has ordered the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, to release contingency funds for post-flood relief to support affected families.
According to John Mahama, the emergency relief funding is for victims of Monday’s devastating floods in Accra, following an aerial inspection of affected areas.
President Mahama is quoted by a TV3 News card to have said, “I have asked the Minister for Finance to release some money from the contingency fund so we can do some post-flood relief for persons who have been affected”.
Mahama also directed a coordinated crackdown on drainage blockages and announced emergency relief funding for victims of Monday’s devastating floods in Accra.
He disclosed that Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, working with the Ministry of Works, Housing and Water Resources, will be tasked to identify all points where drainage channels are blocked for immediate removal.
He also added that response will go beyond demolition of illegal structures, insisting that debris must also be cleared.
“We’re asking every district to identify, together with the Works and Housing Ministry, where the blockages in the channels are… so that we can earmark those places for removal,” he said.
“We’ll not only break the houses. We have to move the rubble out of the way because there’s no use breaking a house and leaving the rubble in the waterways,” he said.
He called on Ghanaians to change their attitude toward environmental management, warning that repeated neglect of drainage systems and waterways continues to worsen flooding in the capital.
Watch the video below:
We should not behave like the proverbial vulture that says it will repair its roof after the rains, only to forget about it once the weather clears… – Pres. Mahama #GHOneNews #EIBNetwork #GHOneTV #NewsAlert pic.twitter.com/TCqfkF3fj3
— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) June 29, 2026
