Roads and Highways Minister Governs Kwame Agbodza says President John Dramani Mahama’s leadership and economic management have enabled the government to deliver better-quality road projects across Ghana.
Agbodza said the administration was determined to break the long-standing pattern of roads being built, deteriorating soon afterwards and then requiring repeated rehabilitation.
He made the remarks while briefing President Mahama during an inspection of the Tepa–Goaso road project in the Ahafo Region on Friday, October 9. The visit formed part of the President’s Resetting Ghana Tour.
“Your Excellency, you said you are not building roads that the Ghanaian keeps complaining about,” Agbodza said.
“The cycle of building and it damages and we come back and do it, the Ghanaian is fed up with it and you are the answer to that. So, Your Excellency, for us today, Ahafo says thank you in addition to other ones that we are doing.”
The minister said the government’s ability to finance road construction demonstrated the impact of its leadership and management of the economy.
“Your Excellency, you are delivering and you are only doing this because you are providing better leadership. And we are having a superior economic management leadership; that is why we are able to save money to do it,” he said.
Agbodza stressed that durability was central to the government’s infrastructure plans. He said roads should be built to serve communities for decades, rather than deteriorate soon after completion and place an additional financial burden on the state.
“Your Excellency this road (Tepa Goaso road) should take us 30 years so that when you get more money, we can extend this road to others who don’t have road yet,” he noted.
He said the Tepa–Goaso road should provide a lasting link for the communities it serves, while future funding could be used to extend the road network to areas that still lacked access.
Agbodza also called for contractors who completed projects to a high standard to receive public recognition.
He said the same attention given to contractors whose work fell below expectations should also be applied to companies delivering beyond the required standard.
“When contractors are not performing, we talk about it; when they are performing above our expectation, we have to talk about that one as well,” he said.
The minister thanked President Mahama on behalf of the Ahafo Region for the road projects under way and said the government’s Reset Agenda should be reflected in infrastructure that was delivered both quickly and to a high standard.
“Reset means quality and speed,” he said.
