Financial economist Professor Godfred Bokpin has expressed concern over the deteriorating state of roads in the country, questioning successive governments' ability to maintain infrastructure despite significant advances in education and technical knowledge.

He said it was unfortunate that Ghana’s forefathers, who had comparatively less formal education and resources, were able to construct roads that remained durable, while many roads built by the current generation had deteriorated significantly.

"With more education and experience, we are building less durable roads than our forefathers did. How did we get here? Who taught us this? Is it fair to submit to you that in this country, if certain roads are commissioned and you don't hurry up and go and use them by the time it gets to your turn, it will not be there?" he bemoaned.

On the ongoing rehabilitation work on the Tema-Accra motorway, he said, "I have been trying to understand how long it took Dr Kwame Nkrumah to complete the Tema-Accra motorway, and that the revision on that road has taken us this long."

Prof Bokpin expressed particular concern about the condition of the Accra-Kumasi highway and the Tema-Accra Motorway, questioning how long it would take for the government to rehabilitate the critical routes.

According to him, the poor condition of the Accra-Kumasi road has significantly increased travel time between the two cities.

He said a journey from Accra to Kumasi, which previously took about three hours five years ago, could now take as long as 10 hours because of the deteriorating road conditions.

"Almost five years ago, a friend attended my father's funeral. It took him three hours to get to the Ashanti region, so he came. He lost his mother, and I calculated that it was going to take me ten hours to return that favour five years down the line; that is too costly for me," he said.

"Why should it take an individual to travel almost ten hours to Kumasi? I am not going to hell," he added.

Prof Bokpin said the situation posed serious risks to motorists and passengers, particularly given the accidents occurring on the route.

He argued that the government should consider declaring a state of emergency on the Accra-Kumasi highway to facilitate urgent intervention rather than allowing accidents linked to the poor condition of the road to continue.

"Would you want to know the number of people who have died on the Accra-Kumasi road this year alone? Probably a state of emergency should be declared on that road," he noted.

Prof Bokpin made the remarks at a public lecture organised by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service on Tuesday, August 11, on the theme: “The Resetting Agenda for Sustainable Development in Ghana: The Civil Service’s Responsibilities.”