The Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Agbodza, has warned that Ghana’s investment in road construction and rehabilitation will be undermined if overloading on the network is allowed to continue.

According to Mr Agbodza, proper construction alone is not enough to guarantee the durability of roads; responsible use by transporters and motorists is equally important.

“If we spend all this money to build or rehabilitate the roads, and allow overloading, the roads will not last,” he said.

The minister highlighted that President John Mahama has made a substantial commitment to improving Ghana’s road infrastructure, a promise he has reiterated both during his campaign and in engagements with stakeholders across the country.

“The president has already made a huge commitment to the people of Ghana to improve the road network across the country. You heard him personally say that during the campaign and even till today, wherever he goes to meet stakeholders, everybody is talking about the need for the road network wherever they need to improve,” Mr Agbodza stated.

In an interview with Accra-based Citi FM, he noted that significant resources have been allocated in the national budget for road projects, with the core projects already awarded.

The focus, he said, is now on ensuring that contractors and consultants adhere to quality standards and use the right materials.

“While it is our responsibility to make sure that we specify and insist they use the right materials, it is going to be a collective effort to make sure that when we spend these monies, we actually get the best running in terms of quality materials,” he added.

Mr Agbodza also announced plans to launch a stakeholder-driven campaign to curb overloading on the road network.

The initiative will engage transport operators, hawkers, and other road users to ensure compliance with regulations.

“We don’t want it to be punitive measures. We want it to be stakeholder driven, so we are going to launch a campaign to bring stakeholders, hawkers, transporters, everybody on board to make sure when the core of the policy comes out it can be implemented and everybody will abide to reduce unnecessary overloading on our roads to prolong the lifespan of the road as we expect it to be,” he said.

The minister stressed that the initiative is aimed at protecting Ghana’s significant investment in road infrastructure, ensuring that the network remains durable and functional for years to come.