By: Ashiadey Dotse
The Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, says the government has begun steps to pay part of the huge debt owed to road contractors, with a planned GHS 4 billion payment expected this year.
Speaking during the Government Accountability Series in Accra on Wednesday July 30, 2025, the minister revealed that the government currently owes road contractors more than GHS 27 billion — made up of GHS 7 billion from the Road Fund and over GHS 20 billion under the Government of Ghana (GoG) budget.
“It’s true that government owes contractors. Retiring these arrears is not going to be easy, but the Finance Minister has made a commitment to pay GHS 4 billion this year,” Mr. Agbodza said. He confirmed that payments to some contractors have already begun.
He explained that the government has started auditing all payment certificates to ensure that only genuine claims are honoured. According to him, some irregularities have been discovered, including instances where both the Road Fund and GoG paid for the same project certificate — a situation he described as unacceptable.
“We need a system that can detect these things so that we don’t pay for projects we didn’t consume,” the minister added.
Mr. Agbodza also acknowledged the poor condition of roads across the country, saying it reflects the same problems everywhere. He noted that President John Mahama is determined to improve the road sector under a new plan.
Key initiatives include the “Big Push” agenda and a new road maintenance strategy. He stated that going forward, all “Big Push” projects will be executed around the clock — 24/7 — to fast-track development and support the 24-hour economy drive.
“We are also looking at interventions to fix the worst roads in about 160 districts. Our plan is to work on about 5,000 kilometers of road over the next few years,” he said.
Mr. Agbodza assured Ghanaians that road quality will improve significantly and that project awards will be better aligned with available resources to ensure efficiency and transparency in delivery.
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