The Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, has announced a major policy shift in the government’s approach to road infrastructure.

According to him, only projects which have been properly programmed and budgeted for will be allowed to proceed.

Speaking at the Government Accountability Series in Accra on Wednesday, July 30, Mr Agbodza addressed the challenges plaguing the sector, citing significant delays in contract payments and a growing number of stalled projects across the country.

“We have huge delays in contract payments. Projects that had been awarded to contractors are not on site simply because we are unable to pay them,” the Minister said.

He added that the backlog of inactive or abandoned projects is “quite disturbing”, attributing much of the dysfunction to what he called an “almost uncontrolled level of award of contracts” by agencies and officials.

“As a Minister, every day people come to me saying, ‘I’ve got this package,’ and they are throwing it in front of me to be just approved,” he explained.

In what he termed a “reset” of policy direction, Mr Agbodza made it clear that future projects would only be undertaken if they are already incorporated into the national development plan and come with secure financing.

“Reset means that cannot be done anymore. We will only go ahead with projects that had been programmed and budgeted for,” he stressed.

“I’m pleading with everybody interested in playing a role in the road sector: the days of uncontrolled, unregulated award of contracts are far gone.”

He further warned that no new initiatives would commence without guaranteed funding, in an effort to curb the chronic overspending and inefficiencies that have plagued the sector in recent years.

“We will only start projects that we are sure we can fund, and that is a message to everybody,” he concluded.