Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, has declared an end to the era of unregulated and indiscriminate awarding of road contracts in Ghana.
Speaking during the Government Accountability Series on Wednesday, July 30, Mr. Agbodza criticized what he described as significant challenges inherited from the previous Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration, particularly in how road contracts were handled.
He stated that the current government, under President Mahama, is committed to resetting the country’s governance systems — including reforms in the road sector.
According to the Minister, the government will now strictly adhere to awarding contracts that are properly programmed and budgeted for, to prevent project delays and abandoned sites.
“We did a stakeholder engagement with all the players in the road sector and after the engagement with our stakeholders, we get a clear view of what the situation is in our country. Few things came up quite clear. We have huge delays in contract payment – thus projects have been awarded, and contractors are not on site simply because the recertificate and we are unable to pay them,” Agbodza explained.
He further highlighted a worrying backlog of stalled projects and inefficiencies in procurement processes, stressing that there had been an “almost uncontrolled” level of contract awards by previous agencies.
“As a minister, everyday people come to me ‘I’ve got this package and they are throwing it in front of me to just approve’, reset means that that cannot be done. We’ll only go-ahead projects that have been programmed and budgeted for,” he said.
Mr. Agbodza, who also serves as Member of Parliament for Adaklu, urged all stakeholders to align with the new approach, emphasizing that discipline and fiscal responsibility will guide the government’s infrastructure agenda.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
