Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwame Agbodza, has summoned key roads authorities in the Bono Region to Accra, to explain what he described as the poor pace of work on major road projects in Sunyani.
The minister directed the Regional Director of Highways, the Regional Director of Urban Roads and the Chief Executives of the Ghana Highways Authority and the Urban Roads Department to appear at his office at 8 a.m. on Monday, following an unannounced inspection of the Sunyani Outer Ring Road.
Mr Agbodza expressed concern that the level of activity he observed on the project was not consistent with the volume of work required to meet the government’s 2027 deadline.
“I am worried about the pace of work. The volume of work that needed to be done in Sunyani by the end of 2027, at this pace, I don’t think you’ll meet the deadline,” he told officials during the inspection.
He, therefore, directed the officials to report to Accra with the contractors, to account for the slow progress and explain the circumstances surrounding the apparent lack of activity on sections of the road.
“Bring the contractors with the Chief Executive of Urban and the Highways to Accra on Monday at eight o’clock,” he directed.
The minister also specifically ordered the Regional Director of Highways to meet the Chief Executive of the Ghana Highway Authority in Accra on Monday.
His frustration followed an inspection during which he repeatedly questioned why little construction activity was visible on portions of the road despite the availability of work fronts.
At about 11 a.m., Mr Agbodza asked officials why he could not see trucks and equipment actively working on the section where the inspection had stopped.
“It is 11 o’clock. How come I didn’t see all the trucks and equipment working actively on this section?” he asked.
Officials explained that contractors were working further ahead on the stretch, but the minister rejected the explanation, insisting that the entire project must be worked on according to the approved programme.
“I’m not interested in where they are working. I’m interested in where they are not working,” he said.
Mr Agbodza also warned regional roads directors that they would be held accountable for the performance of projects under their supervision.
He criticised what he described as a culture in which contractors and officials prepare for announced inspections, but fail to maintain the same level of activity when government officials are not present.
“Anytime I say I am going out to inspect, I know some people working with me share the itinerary with the contractors and they prepare to see me. I call this eye service,” he said.
The minister said he had resorted to independent inspections because reports from some regional officials did not always reflect the situation on the ground.
He disclosed that an independent team had recently inspected projects in the Eastern, Bono and Ashanti regions and suggested that the findings were at variance with reports he had received from some regional representatives.
“This cannot be business as usual,” he warned. Mr Agbodza further told the regional directors that their positions could be at risk if they failed to deliver.
“There are so many people looking for jobs, so you better explain to me why yourself and the urban roads directors, including Engineer Adoma, your team in the region are not doing up to expectation,” he said.
“This is the deadline. The two months have passed. If we get there and you are not working, we will take a decision on you,” he added.
Contractors also face action
The minister’s summons came alongside a separate directive to reduce the work scopes of two contractors on the Sunyani Outer Ring Road.
He ordered China International Water and Polychanda to have their respective scopes reduced from 50 kilometres to 25 kilometres, with additional contractors expected to take over the portions removed from their contracts.
Mr Agbadza said the performance of the two contractors would be monitored for two months and warned that the remaining portions could also be taken away if they failed to improve.
The minister also directed officials to ensure that work on the project, including crushed-rock base activities, commenced with urgency.
He said residents along the corridor were unhappy with the state of the road and urged the regional authorities to take their concerns seriously.
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