A road engineer has singled out the continuous award of road contracts to contractors with poor track record in the industry as the cause of the many poor roads dotted across the city.

Ing Abudulai Mahama, speaking on Joy Fm’s Super Morning show, Wednesday, said until government blacklists such contractors the problem will persist.

The subject of bad roads has trended following The Multimedia’s crusade to get the road leading to the Lekma hospital fixed. 

Read more here: The 7.5 km road at Lekma that kills pregnancies

The road which until the crusade was notorious for its dusty and bumpy nature and blamed for causing miscarriages is now being fixed.

Read more here:  Photos: JoyNews gets results: Work progressing steadily on Lekma road

That road is one of many other roads across the country that needed attention.

Listeners of the SMS on Wednesday took turns to wail over the poor nature of the roads in their community.

There may be an end to their predicament if the advice of Engineer Abdulai Maham is heeded by the government.

Ing. Mahama argued strongly that the time is ripe for the government to add engineers with credibility to the panel of experts that vets proposals for road contracts.  

Such experts, he maintained, may have an eye for contractors with credible track record before committing government resources.

He singled out for praise, the contractor who worked on the Pantang- Ayi Mensa – Aburi to Mamfe road project. He believes such contractors must be rewarded with more contracts.

Ing Mahama, however, conceded that bad roads exist also because government reneges on its obligation to pay contractors on time.

This development, as he explained, leads to repetitive suspension of works until funds are made available.

Unfortunately such breaks in works, no matter how brief, affects the integrity of the road which is finally produced, he bemoaned.