The Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, has revealed that the government has paid at least GH¢13 billion towards road projects inherited from the previous administration, dismissing claims that ongoing works have been abandoned.

The Minister disclosed this while responding to questions during the Annual Progress Report hearings organised by Parliament's Economy Committee, where he defended the government's commitment to infrastructure continuity.

Mr Agbodza rejected suggestions that the current administration had neglected or halted projects initiated by its predecessor, stressing that substantial payments had been made to settle outstanding obligations on completed and ongoing works.

"So far, GH¢13 billion has been paid for projects executed before the new government took office," he said.

According to the Minister, the payments demonstrate the government's commitment to honouring existing contractual obligations rather than abandoning inherited projects.

"That is the difference. That is what Ghanaians expected us to do," he added.

Mr Agbodza argued that the current approach marks a departure from previous practices, where incoming governments often abandoned inherited projects in favour of launching new ones.

"In the past, the attitude would have been: 'We did not start it, so let it rest while we begin our own projects," he noted.

He explained that the government is pursuing a dual strategy of completing inherited projects while simultaneously undertaking new ones to meet national development objectives.

"Government is doing new things, but not at the expense of what we inherited," he said.

"We are continuing existing projects while adding new ones to ensure we meet our national development targets."

Road Fund de-capping

Mr Agbodza also highlighted Parliament's role in helping to address outstanding road sector debts through the decision to decap the Road Fund, allowing the sector to retain all revenues accrued to it.

He explained that Parliament recognised that capping statutory funds had become counterproductive.

"Parliament took the view that the capping of some statutory funds was not serving its intended purpose. Funds allocated for health, education and roads were not being fully utilised for those sectors," he said.

The Minister noted that the Road Fund was already facing a deficit of about GH¢13 billion, making the capping arrangement particularly challenging.

"Capping a fund that was already burdened with a GH¢13 billion deficit was not helpful. Parliament therefore decided to de-cap the Road Fund, and we now receive every pesewa that accrues to it," he stated.

According to Mr Agbodza, the government is using these resources both to settle inherited debts and to undertake new road projects across the country.

Tackling project cost overruns

The Minister further attributed escalating project costs in the road sector to poor planning and weak project management practices over the years.

"Part of the reason projects get out of hand is the way they are structured and managed throughout their implementation period," he said.

He observed that delays in project execution often result in significant cost overruns, with repeated contract variations and rate revisions substantially increasing final project costs.

Mr Agbodza cited instances where projects initially valued at around GH¢50 million eventually cost as much as GH¢300 million due to successive adjustments and prolonged implementation periods.

He stressed the need for projects to be properly designed, adequately funded and completed within agreed timelines to avoid unnecessary increases in cost.

"Projects must be properly structured and delivered within defined timelines if we are to avoid these excessive cost overruns," he said.