International support for further development of new drains in the national capital is in jeopardy as a result of the mess into which the Odaw development project has sunk following persistent pollution. The drain, completed more than a decade ago, involved the reconstruction of a 7.2km canal from Abossey Okai in Accra to the Tema Motorway to reduce flooding in parts of the national capital, but it is now full of heavy silt, garbage and weeds, thereby being unable to serve its purpose. As a result, some of the country's development partners have expressed disappointment in the enterprise and indicated their unwillingness to render further support to the country in that area of development. The millions of dollars sunk into the Odaw development project notwithstanding, the present state of the watercourse is appalling, becoming a source of disappointment to the World Bank, the Agence Francaise de Development and the Dutch government. An official of the Project Co-ordinating Unit of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Kofi Howard, told the Daily Graphic that the donors were not willing to give any more funds for such projects. By its sheer proximity, the drain has become an ideal place for the disposal of scrap by dealers and also human waste by many, including squatters at Sodom and Gomorrah, the sprawling slum at Old Fadama in Accra. Aside from that, the haphazard disposal of solid waste along the banks of the canal by individuals and waste disposal agencies and the consequent burning of such waste have made the entire stretch environmentally unfriendly and unsightly. "Although the donors have not stated categorically that they will no longer give us money for other projects, anytime we requested for funds for projects, they ask us if we have the capacity to maintain them," Mr Howard stated. The work was carried out, in addition to the construction of 24 other critical secondary drains in the national capital under the Accra Drainage Improvement Works undertaken by the then Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, at the cost of $20.7 million, from 1999 to 2001. Mr Howard explained that per a requirement by the donors, a Drain Maintenance Unit was established by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to see to the clearing of the silt from the Odaw and other drains in the city. But as the situation stands now, it is not clear which agency is fully responsible for the regular maintenance of the drain. Although Mr Howard stated that the AMA was expected to maintain the drain by financing and supervising such works, an official of the AMA countered that by saying that the assembly lacked the funds to undertake such maintenance works and that the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing rather was responsible for such works. In agreeing partially with the AMA official, Mr Howard stated, "I think the money required for this kind of work is too much for the AMA and it, therefore, needs the assistance of the government to enable it to effectively carry out that duty."