News Guide Africa

Tag: Ministry of Roads and Highways

  • Roads Ministry imposes absolute ban on new projects to stop contractor backlog

    Roads Ministry imposes absolute ban on new projects to stop contractor backlog

    By Adnan Adams Mohammed

     

    In an aggressive move to restore sanity to public procurement, the Ministry of Roads and Highways has introduced a radical policy banning the initiation of any new road projects nationwide.

    Adopting an uncompromising, delivery-first directive, the sector Minister announced an absolute freeze on fresh contract awards, declaring that the state’s full fiscal weight will be redirected solely to completing the immense backlog of active, ongoing infrastructure works before another single inch of ground is broken.

    Rationalizing Expenditure and Clearing Outstanding Backlogs

    According to ministry sources, the decision is a strategic move designed to ensure strict fiscal discipline and build confidence in public procurement. By concentrating state revenue on active construction sites, the ministry aims to rapidly clear its financial obligations to contractors and prevent uncompleted works from deteriorating under weather elements, which often leads to costly contract variations later on.

    The directive is expected to immediately impact the operational planning of the ministry’s key implementing departments, including the Ghana Highway Authority, the Department of Urban Roads, and the Department of Feeder Roads. Project managers have been directed to strictly audit active sites and enforce rigid timelines against defaulting contractors.

     

    Key Directives Under the New Roads Ministry Policy

    Absolute Freeze: A comprehensive suspension on advertising or awarding new periodic maintenance, upgrading, or resurfacing contracts.

    Delivery-First Approach: Strategic redirection of budgetary allocations to clear certificates of completed phases on active sites.

    Rigid Auditing: Immediate performance evaluation of all existing contractors to identify and rectify bottlenecks causing delays.

    Accountability and Technical Oversight

    The Minister also tasked technical directors and regional engineers to step up field supervision, stressing that the execution-first directive requires zero tolerance for substandard work or artificial delays. While the temporary ban remains absolute for routine structural undertakings, exceptions will be carved out strictly for emergencies, such as sudden bridge collapses or severe washouts that threaten human lives and isolate communities.

    “We owe it to the taxpayer to finish what we started,” the Minister stated, reaffirming that the measure will ultimately protect national resources and guarantee long-term value for money. “Contractors on site must step up their pace. If you are executing a contract for this ministry, your focus must be to complete it, hand it over, and clear the way for others.”

     

  • NPA Moves to Standardize Road Infrastructure with New Bitumen Oversight Panel

    NPA Moves to Standardize Road Infrastructure with New Bitumen Oversight Panel

    In a major push to eliminate substandard materials from Ghana’s infrastructure projects, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has established a high-level technical committee to spearhead the regulation of bitumen production and supply.

    The 16-member team is tasked with drafting a comprehensive regulatory framework to govern the quality, importation, and distribution of bitumen, closing a long-standing gap in the monitoring of products critical to the nation’s road construction sector.

    Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of the NPA, Mr. Godwin Kudzo Tameklo (Esq.), underscored the critical need for a regulatory backbone in the sector. He noted that despite the bitumen industry’s long-standing, vital role in the development and maintenance of Ghana’s road infrastructure, there has been a glaring absence of a dedicated framework governing key activities such as importation, storage, transportation, distribution, and quality assurance.

    “The road sector is a huge consumer of bitumen, and the concern is coming primarily from that sector as to the quality of the product that is available,” Mr. Tameklo explained. “As long as it is a by-product from the refinery, then it comes directly under NPA, and we have the responsibility to ensure that the bitumen that comes into the country meets the required standards.”

    The Technical Committee is heavily representative of cross-sector experts, drawing key stakeholders together to build a unified system. It is chaired by Mr. Abass Tasunti, Director of Economic Regulation and Planning (ER&P) at the NPA, with Ms. Bridgette A. Turkson, Acting Director of the Licensing Directorate, serving as Co-Chair.

    Other members include experts from the NPA’s Quality Assurance, Licensing, Inspections Monitoring, and Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Directorates. To ensure a collaborative approach, the committee also incorporates representatives from the Ghana Highways Authority (GHA), Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Ghana Revenue Authority (Customs Division), and the Ministry of Roads and Highways.

    Mr. Tameklo urged the committee members to work with dedication, emphasizing that the project is in the interest of the country’s national development. “This is a very critical committee, and I want all of you to do your best—no compromises. Let’s do it for Ghana,” the CEO added.

    Expressing confidence in the team’s ability to execute its mandate, the Committee Chairman, Mr. Abass Tasunti, urged all representatives to actively participate.

    “Bitumen is a critical product in the country; almost all our roads are constructed with it, so it is important that we pay attention to it,” Mr. Tasunti stated. “As a regulator, any product that comes out of petroleum products, including bitumen, the NPA must have an oversight role over it. The diversity of this committee is to ensure that the best is given so we can develop a feasible framework that meets international standards.”

     

    The establishment of this framework marks a major milestone in the NPA’s broader efforts to improve quality assurance, combat substandard product delivery, and provide regulatory clarity for businesses, investors, and state agencies operating within Ghana’s petroleum downstream and infrastructure sectors.

     

  • Road Sector Debt: GhIE urges Fin. Minister to prioritize portfolio ‘Downsizing’

    Road Sector Debt: GhIE urges Fin. Minister to prioritize portfolio ‘Downsizing’

    By Adnan Adams Mohammed

    The Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE) has issued a stern call to the Ministry of Finance to tackle the mounting financial exposure in the country’s road sub-sector, warning that persistent payment delays are threatening the quality and durability of Ghana’s infrastructure.

    Delivering the GhIE’s 53rd presidential address on Wednesday, the President of the Institution, Ing. Ludwig Annang Hesse, emphasized that the current financial strain on contractors and consultants has reached a breaking point, necessitating an immediate intervention from the central government.

    Restoring Financial Predictability

    Ing. Annang Hesse painted a sobering picture of the road sector, where stalled projects and escalating costs have become the norm due to erratic funding flows. He argued that the road sector’s current project portfolio far exceeds the government’s available resources, leading to a cycle of debt and delayed delivery.

    “The Ministry of Roads and Highways (MRH) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) are urged to take decisive steps to resolve the financial exposure by reducing the project portfolio to levels consistent with available resources,” Ing. Annang Hesse stated. “The Finance Ministry must assume responsibility for outstanding contractor payments and negotiate structured settlements.”

    The GhIE President warned that these outstanding obligations do more than just slow down work they erode industry confidence and significantly increase the long-term cost of infrastructure as contractors factor in interest on delayed payments.

    A Call for Data-Driven Planning

    Beyond the immediate financial crisis, the GhIE called for a fundamental shift in how Ghana’s roads are managed. Ing. Annang Hesse made a specific appeal to the National Road Authority to institutionalize an integrated system for the routine collection of road traffic data.

    Reliable data, he explained, is the “indispensable” foundation for:

    Effective Planning: Ensuring roads are built where they are needed most.

    Maintenance Scheduling: Moving from reactive repairs to proactive preservation.

    Investment Decisions: Justifying the allocation of scarce national resources.

    Quality and Sustainability

    The GhIE President reminded the gathering that “sustainable road development requires more than just capital injections.” He stressed that adherence to strict engineering standards, transparent procurement, and value-for-money audits are essential to ensuring that road projects do not deteriorate prematurely.

    “Adherence to quality standards and timely disbursement of funds are essential to ensuring the durability of projects,” he noted, cautioning that without coordinated intervention, the nation risks a widening infrastructure deficit and skyrocketing maintenance costs in the future.

    The address comes at a time when the government is under pressure to balance aggressive industrialization goals (see related story) with the need to clear legacy debts in the construction sector. For the engineers at the frontlines of these projects, the message to the Finance Minister was clear: clear the debt, downsize the portfolio, and follow the data.