Kwesi Amoako-Atta, Minister, Roads & Highways
Government has paid over GH¢1 billion within the past 11 months to road contractors as outstanding arrears for work done during the previous Mahama administration.
Kwesi Amoako-Atta, Minister of Roads and Highways, who made this known, said government has also made arrangement to disburse another GH¢120 million to road contractors whose arrears have been outstanding between two and five years.
He disclosed this while swearing-in a nine-member Ministerial Advisory Board of the Ministry of Roads and Highways on Thursday in Accra.
Government, he said, was poised to ensure regular payment of road contractors despite the financial challenges it was currently facing so as to ensure quality execution.
He said the Road Fund, which was supposed to receive an average between GH¢70 to GH¢80million every month, had not received the required amount due to a loan the previous government contracted from the United Bank of Africa (UBA).
The Minister said the government was currently paying GH¢67 million every month to UBA to service the loan at an interest rate of 30 percent, which would be completed by the end of August next year.
“GH¢37 million is left in the Fund every month. Ghana is 60 years old and if you travel abroad, you will realise that we’re lagging behind in terms of road infrastructure so we need to do something about it,” he noted.
The Minister revealed that the country has over 72,000 kilometres of roads, out of which 23 percent had been asphalted with 39 percent in good condition and 61 percent which could be classified as fair or poor.
He therefore called on the board to ensure that Ghana’s roads were in good shape.
Members of the board include Kwabena Owusu-Aduom, a Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Godwin Joseph Brocke, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Roads and Highways and Daniel Kow Brainoo, the National Vice President of the Progressive Road Contractors Association.
The rest are Ludwig A. Hesse from the Ghana Institution of Engineers; Kwadwo H. Osei-Asante from the Ghana Institution of Surveyors; Frank A. Raji, Director of Policy Planning, Budget, Monitoring and Evaluation of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development; Amatus K. B. Deyang, Director of Agricultural, Engineering and Services Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Michael Ayesu, Director in-charge of External Resource Mobilisation at the Ministry of Finance.
A representative from the Attorney-General’s Department administered the Oath of Office and Secrecy to the Board members.
The Board has a four-year mandate.
– GNA