The Minority in Parliament has asked the government to stop the politicisation of road development and instead embrace continuity for the sake of national progress.
In a detailed statement responding to the 2025 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review yesterday, Monday July 28, the Minority Caucus, led by the Ranking Member on the Roads and Transportation Committee, Osei Kennedy Nyarko, criticised the government’s road infrastructure agenda under the so-called “Big Push Programme” as skewed, misleading and lacking strategic focus.
According to the Minority, the current administration’s approach to road infrastructure is fraught with regional imbalances, repackaging of old projects, and deliberate attempts to distort facts regarding financing and project timelines.
The statement pointed out that the government’s project list heavily favors certain regions while neglecting the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions, which together account for more than 35% of Ghana’s population and are central to the country’s economic activity.
“These two regions host a majority of Ghana’s urban population and carry the bulk of vehicular traffic and economic activity, yet are noticeably absent from the core focus of this so-called ‘Big Push Programme’,” the Minority noted.
They argued that leaving out critical road developments in Accra and Kumasi — including the vital Accra-Kumasi corridor undermines economic productivity and national mobility.
The Minority also criticised the budget for its silence on several high-priority road projects, including: The Accra-Kumasi road rehabilitation, especially damaged portions causing daily traffic congestion;
The six-lane Accra-Kumasi expressway, which the President himself recently announced; Critical dualization by-pass projects at Osino, Nsawam, Enyeresi and Konongo;
Roads such as the Atebubu-Kwame Danso Road and Kobe’s Anwia Nkwanta in Kumasi, which have already commenced.
They stressed that excluding these projects from the budget reflects poor planning and disregard for the country’s most essential transport corridors.
The Minority also accused the government of rebranding several projects conceived under the previous administration as new interventions.
Among them are the: Wa-Han Road, Navrongo-Tumu Road, Sunyani Outer Ring Road and Tema-Aflao Road.
“This repackaging raises questions about transparency and the true extent of new investment. Government must acknowledge continuity in public investment rather than resorting to political erasure,” the statement emphasized.
The Minority further challenged the claim by Finance Minister,Dr.CassielAto Forson, that loans secured during the Akufo-Addo administration for key infrastructure projects were used for “other things.”
According to them, the $750 million Afreximbank Facility was a programmatic, multi-purpose infrastructure loan transparently approved by Parliament.
The facility was earmarked for;Ofankor-Nsawam Road, Suame Interchange, Flowerpot Interchange, Borteyman (School Junction to Motorway dualization) and Key bypasses on the Accra-Kumasi corridor including Osino, Anyinam, Enyiresi, and Konongo
“It is, therefore, disingenuous for the current government to distort these facts in an attempt to score political points,” the Minority stated.
The Minority further questioned the feasibility of the “Big Push Programme,” describing the long list of projects as overly ambitious, especially in the face of Ghana’s current fiscal constraints. They criticised the lack of timelines, costings and prioritisation frameworks, warning that the plan appears more political than practical.
“Infrastructure development must be strategic, not scattershot — with prioritization based on traffic volumes, economic impact and agricultural and industrial connectivity,” the Caucus stressed.
The statement also dismissed government claims that 13 projects had been abandoned under the previous administration, asserting that many were ongoing, but had stalled due to government’s refusal to release payments to contractors, reportedly to reduce pressure on the cedi.
“Such actions not only stall development, but also undermine contractor confidence and inflate future costs,” they said.
The Minority Caucus called on the government to:
- Rebalance regional allocations, especially toward high-density economic zones;
- Prioritize ongoing and strategic road projects, particularly along the Accra-Kumasi-Tamale-Paga corridor;
- Provide clear disclosures on timelines, funding sources, and project statuses;
- End the politicization of road development and uphold continuity in governance.
They described the 2025 Mid-Year Budget’s road infrastructure agenda as falling short of equitable development planning, lacking in strategic vision, and failing to provide the transparency Ghanaians deserve.
