The Vice-President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has entreated citizens to exercise patience as the government intensifies efforts to improve road infrastructure across the country.
“We are aware that people want the roads fixed yesterday, not even tomorrow or today.
The anxiety is understood, but we also plead for patience as we do the right things for all of us.
“If I live on a road where there’s dust 24-7, some of us will wonder, what does that do to the children in the area?,” she said.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang added that poor roads were not merely a transportation challenge but also had broader implications for health, education and the overall quality of life.
The Vice-President, who was speaking during a working visit to the Ministry of Roads and Highways, in Accra yesterday, therefore, advised staff of the ministry to avoid unnecessary delays in administrative processes, stressing that timely decisions and efficient work practices were essential for accelerated development.
“If there is something we can do today, let us do it today. Sometimes time itself becomes costly when we do not handle it properly,” she said.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang was accompanied by the Chief of Staff in her office, Alex Percival Segbefia, and other members of staff.
The delegation was received by the Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, directors and heads of agencies and departments under the ministry.
Sensitisation
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang further said that apart from infrastructure development, sustained public education was necessary to encourage responsible road use to reduce accidents, including strengthening the country’s maintenance culture to protect investments made in that sector.
Vision
The sector minister, Mr Agbodza, said the ministry and its agencies were aligned with the vision of President John Dramani Mahama, and therefore, working collaboratively to meet the deadlines and development goals set by the government.
Mr Agbodza
“We want to build the most durable roads. We challenge our local contractors who are at the heart of the ‘Big Push’ initiative to rise to the occasion,” he said.
The minister rejected the perception that local contractors lacked the capacity to deliver high-quality infrastructure, describing such assumptions as outdated and unfair.
“Ghanaians will build roads that will last even longer than some built by foreigners, and we are determined to challenge ourselves to achieve that,” he said.
Mr Agbodza further said that feedback from communities, including traditional authorities, churches and residents, had compelled the ministry to take deliberate steps to improve construction standards.
Addressing traffic disruptions associated with ongoing construction works, the minister appealed to the public for patience, explaining that some temporary inconveniences were necessary to ensure safety during complex engineering operations.
Challenges
Mr Agbodza said that the ministry inherited a heavily burdened project portfolio when the government assumed office.
It included over-commitment and massive unpaid obligations, creating a difficult starting point for the government’s infrastructure agenda.
“The majority of these stemmed from over-commitment, leaving a project portfolio of over GH¢110 billion and project certificates raised and unpaid close to GH¢40 billion,” he added.
He said despite these challenges, the government had begun making steady progress toward stabilising the sector while pushing forward with the expansion and rehabilitation of the country’s road network.
The minister also appealed for additional staffing support, adding that recruiting more engineers and technical staff would help the ministry effectively supervise projects and ensure high-quality outcomes.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh