Since I published my ordeal on the Accra-Kumasi highway, my phone does not stop ringing when the Nkawkaw - Jejeti stretch becomes a parking lot.

Yesterday, May 1, 2026, the calls came in floods again. I was also on that road. However, this time, I refused to use that stretch. I completely avoided Nkawkaw. I drove through Kade, Banka to Anyanso. Peace of mind? No but better than being in a parking lot.

It was 4+ hours of leisurely driving from Achimota to Anyanso. No madness. No 40-tonners. No Voxy. No crawl. Just road; parts okay, others bad. The roads could be better.

And that’s the problem. Leisurely 4+ hours” via Kade should not be the good news. We should not be celebrating detours. We should not be normalizing escape routes because the main artery of Ghana is clotted.

What are the options for the ordinary Ghanaian commuter today? Flight?
A one-way ticket to Kumasi now swings from about Gh¢900+ to Gh¢2,400+ depending on whether you book 2 weeks ahead or an emergency travel. And even after you land, you still have to worry about “internal travels” — how do you get from the airport to Ejisu, to Obuasi,or Bekwai? The inconvenience consumes the convenience of flying. Flying is not your average public transport. It’s a luxury.

Group travel is cheapest. Split the fuel, split the cost. So we drive. But drive where? Through Nkawkaw where a 10-minute stretch takes 2 hours?

Yesterday drivers were punished for choosing the option that makes economic sense.

Yes, traffic flows on the Kade road. Yes, you move. But let’s not lie to ourselves: parts of that road have improved over time but the dust bites for many portions. We are grateful it moves, but “it could have been better.” And “better” should be the baseline for a country in 2026, not a favour.

So here we are: Fly if you can afford it. Drive if you can endure it. Detour if you can survive it.

The Accra-Kumasi road carries 80% of Ghana’s inland cargo. It carries our food, our fuel, our people. It carries students to KNUST and cocoa to Tema. When it fails, Ghana fails. We are losing something important; time. We cannot allow “4+ hours through Kade” to become the new normal. We have to win this road war.

• Complete the By-Passes
• Punish the overweight and oversized trucks destroying the asphalt.
• Work on detours.

I opened my mouth too wide and now I'm the one getting the calls. Please redirect them and do it with passion.

God bless our homeland Ghana

Tony Asare | May 2, 2026