Anlo Member of Parliament, Richard Kwame Sefe, has raised concerns that a $150 million World Bank-funded project meant to protect Ghana’s Volta coastline from sea erosion is being heavily consumed by consultancy services, workshops and logistics — with no visible construction work yet underway.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, the MP said the project, which falls under the West Africa Coastal Areas Management Programme (WACA), risks losing significant value before any physical sea defence infrastructure is delivered.

“The consultant has been procured. But the physical implementation of the project has been on the drawing board,” Mr Sefe said.

“Every day, every week, virtually every month, you hear that workshops are being organised, meetings have been held.”

He questioned the growing focus on administrative activities over actual construction work, arguing that affected communities continue to suffer while meetings are held away from the project sites.

The MP specifically criticised the practice of holding stakeholder meetings in Accra, citing a recent workshop location as an example of what he described as poor planning.

“What is the core relationship between Eburi and the coastal towns being ravaged by sea waves? Don’t we have any hotels around there that they could hold the meeting so that they could go to site and see things for themselves?” he asked.

Mr Sefe warned that if the current trend continues, a large portion of the $150 million facility could be spent on non-technical activities before any physical sea defence work begins.

The WACA programme is designed to strengthen climate resilience and protect vulnerable coastal communities across West Africa, including Ghana, where erosion continues to displace families in parts of the Volta Region.

Mr Sefe referenced earlier coastal protection efforts under a previous phase of the programme, noting the construction of a sea defence system in the Keta area in 1999, which involved massive sand dredging and rock placement to stabilise the shoreline.

He stressed that while planning and consultancy are important, the urgency of the situation demands immediate physical intervention to protect communities already under threat from the encroaching sea.