World Bank commends Ghana for mainstreaming environmental risk management in projects

Charles Teye Amoatey, Director, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Training and Consulting, says the World Bank has commended Ghana for mainstreaming environmental risk management in World Bank-funded projects.

 
He said the World Bank had made positive remarks about Ghana’s advancements in environmental and social risk management.

 
Prof Amoatey said the World Bank had allowed Ghana to use its own system to manage environmental and social risks on World Bank-funded projects.

 
That, he stressed, showed the level of maturity Ghana had achieved as a result of the impact of the environmental and social risk programme.

 
Prof Amoatey said this at the opening of the fourth session of a six-day training programme on the Essentials of Environmental and Social Risk Management (ESRM) in Accra.

 
The programme is organised by GIMPA in collaboration with the Regional Transport Research and Education Centre of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) funded by the World Bank Group.

 
The training programme brought together 35 participants from the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, as well as local government and public service from the African continent, including Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.

 
The aim of the programme is to train participants to manage ESRM associated with projects being implemented on the continent for sustainable development.

 
Studies conducted on improving results in sub-Saharan Africa showed that financial institutions in the region did not achieve satisfactory environmental, social, health, and safety ratings. 

Also, there is a lack of capacity among these institutions as well as member states to implement environmental and social risk management.

 
He urged African governments to prioritise  environmental and social risk management in every project at the inception stage to ensure that all environmental risk issues were properly managed.

 
The Professor said the World Bank had decided not to approve a project if there was no environmental and social risk management report that came along with the feasibility studies.

 
He called for government support to actualize these initiatives, devoid of political interference in project implementation.

 
“For example, if a project is coming up and we feel that due to the potential environmental impact, the project should not be approved, I think that the politicians should heed our advice and allow the technocrats to do their professional jobs,” he said.

 
Professor Helen Essandoh, Director, Regional Transport Research and Education Centre, KNUST, said the course was launched in November 2022, to increase the capacity of environmental experts to manage development projects. 

She said the participants would be taken through topics like regulations on the environment, land issues, gender issues, and labour issues, among others.

 
Sustainable development, she stressed, was hinged on the pillars of economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

 
Mr Jonathan Zinzi Aryitey, Representative of the World Bank, said the programme was instituted due to gaps in human resources in the management of environmental and social risk.

 
All development projects, he stated, had humans at the core of their centres to ensure efficient and effective implementation, leading to positive outcomes.

 
“For a project to have a true impact, then environmental and social risk management should be at the forefront to eradicate poverty and ensure the better living conditions of the citizens,” he said.