The Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, has assured the public that all current and upcoming road projects under the government’s “Big Push” initiative will be completed within a firm two-year timeline.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Mr Agbodza stated that Ghanaians have become too accustomed to road projects that begin but are never completed, a situation he described as unacceptable.
“The average Ghanaian has come to accept something that is completely unacceptable, because they see road projects start around their backyard, and no one can tell them when it will be completed. We want to reset. ‘Reset’ means we need to change that narrative,” he said.
He indicated that by the end of the month ( August), all “Big Push” projects must be active on-site, except the Dambai Bridge, which requires further investigations and detailed design before full-scale construction can begin. However, he added that site preparation for the bridge can still commence.
Mr Agbodza explained that all projects have been deliberately structured to last no more than 24 months.
“All the projects have been deliberately structured to span two years, 24 months, and we will not go beyond that,” he said. “Sometimes, a contractor is awarded 100 kilometers of road. People forget that constructing 100 kilometers is not a small undertaking. There may be people who are more interested in how much it costs — they focus on the money involved. So contractors take the job, and for seven or eight years, they do nothing. We want to avoid that.”
He announced that any contractor who delays a project by three months without justifiable cause will have their contract terminated. He said the ministry will strictly enforce this clause going forward.
“From now on, Big Push — which is something we needed like yesterday — will work differently,” he said. “When we award you 20 kilometers of road and say complete it in 24 months, we expect you to finish ahead of schedule. If there’s any evidence of a three-month delay, we’ll write it into the contract: we terminate. We are not going to wait. If you like, go to court.
“No contractor is compelled to participate in Big Push, but if you do, you must be prepared to work 24/7. You must be ready to deliver within 12 months unless something extremely unforeseen happens, and we’ll be the ones to determine that.”
The Minister also expressed concern about weak supervision in past projects, blaming both consultants and internal staff for allowing poor-quality work to go unchecked.
“Another problem we’ve noticed is the lack of effective supervision, either by third-party service providers like consultants or by our own staff from the various agencies,” Mr Agbodza said.
“There is evidence that most of them did not perform the way they should. For instance, a road is built that’s supposed to last 15 years, and it fails in six months, then we have to look for more money to fix it again. That cannot continue,” he added.
He emphasised that moving forward, contractors will be selected based on their technical competence and ability to provide valid performance insurance. The Ministry, he added, will no longer accept superficial guarantees from insurance companies.
“From now on, if you want to participate in any activity at the Ministry, you must demonstrate technical capability,” he said.
“You must take the appropriate steps, including securing the right insurance. The days when a contractor gets an insurance firm to issue a piece of paper, thinking we’ll never cash it when things go wrong, are over. Let me remind you, this time around, we’ll be very happy to cash it,” Mr Agbodza concluded.
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