President John Dramani Mahama used a November 7 festival address in Anloga to promise two coastal-protection allocations totalling GH¢935 million. The figures respond to communities living with erosion and tidal destruction, but they describe different stages of government action: GH¢685 million to begin WACA works, and GH¢250 million proposed for the 2027 budget to keep Blekusu Phase II moving. The crucial question now is how those announcements become funded, scheduled protection on the ground.
Two pledges, not one pot of money
Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has outlined GH¢935 million in coastal-protection commitments after traditional leaders in the Volta Region urged action on shoreline erosion and repeated tidal damage. Speaking at the Hogbetsotso Festival grand durbar in Anloga on November 7, he described GH¢685 million for works under the West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project (WACA) and an additional GH¢250 million for the continuing Blekusu Phase II Sea Defence Project. The two announcements serve related purposes but are not one newly approved GH¢935 million contract.
The first amount was described as allocated to commence WACA coastal works. The second was earmarked in the proposed 2027 national budget for Blekusu's continuation and completion. That distinction matters because a presidential budget announcement is not itself parliamentary approval, release of cash or proof of construction. Graphic Online and two Ghana News Agency reports independently describe the same GH¢685 million-plus-GH¢250 million breakdown. No spending schedule for the combined headline was presented at the festival.
Sources: Mahama announces GH¢685m to combat coastal erosion, vows to protect vulnerable communities · President Mahama announces allocation of GHS685m for coastal protection works under WACA project · President Mahama announces GH¢935million allocation for coastal protection and Blekusu Sea Defence Project
What the WACA allocation is meant to do
The GH¢685 million WACA component is intended to address erosion with more than a single line of concrete on the beachfront. Mahama described breakwaters, groynes and revetments, alongside dune stabilisation using vegetation, beach replenishment and the restoration of wetlands. He also mentioned rehabilitation of lagoons and watersheds, reflecting the way coastal protection connects with the movement of water and sediment beyond a project's immediate footprint.
Livelihood support for communities in the programme area is also part of the announced approach, especially for young people, women and persons with disabilities. The WACA Resilience Investment Project 2 has a longer institutional history: the World Bank approved a regional financing programme involving Ghana, The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau in December 2022, with a combination of engineered and nature-based measures and local social investments. Saturday's Ghanaian-currency announcement should not be added mechanically to the earlier World Bank regional financing total; the public remarks do not reconcile those figures or establish a new disbursement. Neither an exact WACA works start date nor a site-by-site construction timetable accompanied this announcement.
Sources: Mahama announces GH¢685m to combat coastal erosion, vows to protect vulnerable communities · President Mahama announces allocation of GHS685m for coastal protection works under WACA project · World Bank Approves $246 Million to Strengthen Coastal Resilience in West Africa
Blekusu Phase II is already under way
The separate GH¢250 million commitment concerns work that had already begun, rather than a freshly launched sea-defence scheme. Blekusu Phase II covers a further stretch of coastline in the Ketu South area, including communities affected by encroaching tides. Graphic Online's October 2025 project report described an eight-kilometre scheme being executed by Amandi Holdings, originally designed with 37 groynes to trap sand and create a protective buffer along the shoreline.
There is a newer technical update. Following an August 2026 inspection, the Ghana Hydrological Authority said the design had expanded from 37 to 40 groynes to reflect conditions on the ground and reduce potential downstream effects of sediment movement. It reported that construction began in July 2025 and that the scheduled completion date was June 2028. The updated engineering account supersedes the 37-groyne figure as a description of current planned works. The authority also noted outstanding payment certificates and permit-renewal challenges. Mahama did not give a new completion timetable at the festival; an existing schedule is not a guarantee that the project will finish on time.
Sources: President Mahama announces allocation of GHS685m for coastal protection works under WACA project · HYDRO Board and Audit Committee Inspect Blekusu Coastal Protection Project Phase II · Work on Blekusu Sea Defence project progresses
The 2027 budget is the next financial test
For the Blekusu pledge, the immediate checkpoint is Parliament, not the beach. Ghana's finance minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, is scheduled to present the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy on November 12. The GH¢250 million figure was announced in advance of that presentation. Readers should therefore understand it as the government's stated budget intention, subject to the country's formal budget and implementation processes, not as an already enacted appropriation or a verified contractor payment.
A line in the budget would be an important step, but it would still leave practical questions: when funds are released, which certified works they cover, and whether the contractor can sustain the pace of construction. The distinction is particularly relevant because the Hydrological Authority recorded payment and permit issues at the project during its August visit. For WACA, the questions are different: which shoreline sections are prioritised, what procurement and environmental safeguards remain, and when communities will see physical works. Neither announced amount by itself answers those delivery questions.
Sources: President Mahama announces allocation of GHS685m for coastal protection works under WACA project · HYDRO Board and Audit Committee Inspect Blekusu Coastal Protection Project Phase II · Finance Minister to Present 2027 Budget on November 12
Why Anlo leaders pressed the issue
The pledges followed direct appeals by Anlo traditional leaders during the annual Hogbetsotso celebration. Togbui Sri III, the Awoamefia of Anlo, called for uninterrupted work on the Blekusu project and urgent implementation of WACA's coastal protection and beach reclamation measures. The requests were rooted in the consequences of tidal damage in communities such as Fuveme, where the threat is not simply lost land but recurring disruption to homes, fishing livelihoods, schools and places of cultural importance.
Mahama acknowledged those human costs in his remarks. GNA reported his emphasis on families repeatedly displaced by erosion and on protecting mangroves and other coastal vegetation. For residents, the question is less whether two large figures were announced on a festival stage than whether shoreline defences and ecosystem measures are delivered without pushing risks onto neighbouring settlements. Groynes can accumulate sand locally, but the Hydrological Authority's own review recognised that altering sediment drift requires attention to conditions further along the coast. Community engagement and care of reclaimed areas are part of that challenge.
Sources: Mahama announces GH¢685m to combat coastal erosion, vows to protect vulnerable communities · President Mahama announces allocation of GHS685m for coastal protection works under WACA project · HYDRO Board and Audit Committee Inspect Blekusu Coastal Protection Project Phase II
What would count as progress
The two commitments can be judged against separate, observable milestones. For WACA, those include a published works plan, procurement and start dates, engineering and ecological designs, and a clear account of which settlements receive protection. For Blekusu Phase II, they include approval of the relevant 2027 budget provision, actual releases, reported construction progress and the eventual operation of the full revised scheme. Each would tell the public more than the GH¢935 million arithmetic alone.
There are also limits to what Sunday's reports establish. The sources record the president's announcement, not proof that every announced cedi is already available to spend; the budget had yet to be presented. Public reporting does not supply an updated WACA start date or a new festival-day Blekusu completion deadline. Ghana's coastal communities have heard the financial promise. Whether the planned works protect households and livelihoods, and do so without transferring erosion problems elsewhere, will depend on decisions and measurable progress after the announcement.
Sources: Mahama announces GH¢685m to combat coastal erosion, vows to protect vulnerable communities · President Mahama announces allocation of GHS685m for coastal protection works under WACA project · President Mahama announces GH¢935million allocation for coastal protection and Blekusu Sea Defence Project · HYDRO Board and Audit Committee Inspect Blekusu Coastal Protection Project Phase II · Finance Minister to Present 2027 Budget on November 12
