The newly sworn in members of the Ghana Road Fund Board
The newly sworn in Board Chairman of the Ghana Road Fund (GRF), Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has assured that the board will work hard to find innovative ways to raise funds to support the road sector.
The Road Fund is a statutory fund established to finance routine and periodic maintenance of the country’s road network, including activities related to road safety.
At a swearing-in ceremony in Accra, Mr. Annoh-Dompreh pledged the board’s commitment to channel its efforts toward realising the objectives of the government.
“I got some marching orders when this appointment was given, and it’s not a departure from what the minister has spoken to (us about). He’s spoken to a certain renewed maintenance culture that all of us have to adhere to,” he stated.
Mr. Annoh-Dompreh, who is the Majority Chief Whip, said the board would also work in tandem with the Finance Minister for timely budgetary releases, which he noted, go to the core of the board’s mandate.
“Thankfully, we have people who are very experienced in these matters, and I was seated and beaming with laughter with the Controller (and Accountant-General) himself,” he intimated.
“We’re not going to take our work lightly, and it’s not going to be business as usual. Again, we have a Minister of Finance who is one of our own. The work begins,” he asserted.
Minister of Roads and Highways, Francis Asenso-Boakye, said the Akufo-Addo government has constructed more roads than any other administration in Ghana’s history.
According to him, the Akufo-Addo administration has built three times as many roads as the Mahama administration did.
“This government has invested in road construction more than any other government, and has upgraded the road network substantially.
“In fact, three times more than the previous administration. It is on record that between 2009 and 2016, 4,636 kilometres of road was added to the road network, but since 2017 to date, 12,800 kilometres of road have been added to the road network,” he said.
The minister said that already, six interchanges have been completed since 2016 and there are about 10 more that are ongoing.
“These are all unprecedented levels of infrastructure development in the road sector,” he affirmed.
By Ernest Kofi Adu