Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations Minister Samuel Nartey George has disclosed that the government’s Big Push road programme is responsible for roughly half of the fibre cuts linked to road construction each month.

He said the damage was largely caused by uncoordinated excavation and the absence of approved drawings and proper site coordination between road contractors and telecommunications operators.

Speaking on Monday, September 7, at the Government Accountability Series at the Jubilee House in Accra, Mr George said Ghana was projected to record 8,578 fibre cuts in 2026, with 4,289 already recorded in the first half of the year.

He said the frequent damage to fibre infrastructure was having significant financial and operational consequences, with an average repair cost of about US$2,045 per cut and more than US$20 million spent on repairs in 2025 alone.

“The single largest cause, by a wide margin, is uncoordinated excavation connected to road construction, and in particular to the Government’s own ‘Big Push’ road programme, which accounts for roughly half of all road-related fibre cuts each month,” he said.

Mr George said government was responding through a joint Cabinet Memorandum between his Ministry and the Ministry of Roads and Highways on the Dig Once Policy, which requires telecommunications infrastructure to be incorporated into road construction planning.

He said the policy would help reduce indiscriminate fibre cuts while lowering the overall cost of deploying fibre across the country. He also disclosed that the NCA was finalising a coordination framework requiring road agencies and contractors to engage telecom operators before excavation begins.

“We anticipated this threat,” Mr George said, adding that the Ministry would also introduce enforceable cost-recovery penalties for third-party damage to telecommunications infrastructure.