The Minister added that the
Government had made arrangement to disburse another GH₵120 million to road contractors whose arrears had been
outstanding between two to five years.
Mr Amoako-Atta made this known at
the swearing-in of a nine-member Ministerial Advisory Board of the Ministry of
Roads and Highways in Accra, on Thursday.
Mr Amoako-Atta, who is also the
Chairperson of the Advisory Board, said the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo led
government was poised to ensure regular payment of road contractors despite the
financial challenges it was currently grappling with so as to ensure quality
work delivery.
He said the Road Fund, which was
supposed to receive an average between GH₵70 to GH₵80million
every month, had not gotten 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₵67million
every month to the UBA to service the loan at an interest rate of 30 per cent,
which would be completed by the end of August next year, therefore GH₵37 million was left in the Fund
every month.
“We don’t want to default in
payment in view of the financial consequences we may suffer, therefore we
should be creative and innovative so that we can bring out ideas to deal with
the road issues,” he stated.
Mr Amoako-Atta therefore, urged
the Board to bring their expertise and experiences on board to move the
government’s agenda of ensuring quality roads across the country was realised.
“Ghana is 60 years old and if you
travel abroad, you realised that we’re lagging behind in terms of road
infrastructure so we need to do something about it,” he noted.
The Minister said the country had
over 72,000 kilometres of roads out of which 23 per cent had been asphalted
with 39 per cent in good condition and 61 per cent could be classified as fair
or poor.
“So as members of the Board we
must collectively ensure that our roads are in good shape and safe as well as
ensuring value for money,” he said.
The other members of the Board
are; Kwabena Owusu-Aduom, a Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Godwin
Joseph Brocke, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Roads and Highways and Mr
Daniel Kow Brainoo, the National Vice President of the Progressive Road
Contractors Association.
The rest are; Mr Ludwig A. Hesse,
from the Ghana Institution of Engineers, Mr Kwadwo H. Osei-Asante, from the
Ghana Institution of Surveyors, Mr Frank A. Raji, the Director of Policy
Planning, Budget, Monitoring and Evaluation of the Ministry of Local Government
and Rural Development, Mr Amatus K. B. Deyang, the Director of Agricultural,
Engineering and Services Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture
and Mr Michael Ayesu, the Director in charge of External Resource Mobilisation
of 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 which is constituted
under Civil Service Law, 1993 (PNDCL 327) has a four-year tenure, and would
serve as an interface between the Ministry and other stakeholders.
It would also offer advice on
policy direction to the government.
GNA
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