Ten lives have been lost in a fatal collision between a VIP passenger bus and a diesel trailer at Mile 44 on the Accra–Kumasi highway in the early hours of Monday, April 13.

The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) said it received a distress call around 4 a.m., after which it dispatched a seven-member team. This prompted a swift response from the Suhum Municipal Fire Station, which arrived within minutes to begin rescue operations.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the crash was caused by wrongful overtaking by the bus driver, resulting in the collision.

At the time of the incident, the bus was carrying 33 passengers. Ten people, nine males and one female, were confirmed dead.

Accra-Kumasi highway to see facelift soon

Roads Minister Governs Agbodza has revealed that the budget allocated for construction works on the Accra-Kumasi bypass has increased by 100% due to galamsey pits and swampy terrain discovered in the area.

The revelation came at a time when the Roads Minister was debunking a report that President John Dramani Mahama had asked contractors to stop work on the bypass.

Speaking to Parliament on the matter on Tuesday, November 25, Mr Agbogza indicated, "Mr Speaker, let me put it on record, "President Mahama's government never asked any contractor working on the bypasses on the Accra–Kumasi road to stop work. Indeed, I called all the contractors and encouraged them to continue working."

"However, what they told me was that at the time they were asked to go to site, they were not shown details of the alignment, and this was said in the presence of the Finance Minister. They said they flew a drone and showed them the drone image of the alignment. When they got to the site and started working, they saw galamsey pits and swamp areas. So as we speak, Mr Speaker, almost all the contract prices have increased by more than a hundred percent," Mr Agbodza clarified.

Parliament on July 30 unanimously endorsed the government’s proposal to divert all royalties that will be received from oil revenues and mineral royalties to support the implementation of the Big Push Programme.

This came after the government requested Parliament approve committing funds to assist in the construction of certain road projects. Chairman of the Parliament's Finance Committee, Mr Isaac Adongo, while presenting the report by the Budget and Finance joint committee to the plenary, said, “The Committee has carefully considered the Referral, and it is of the opinion that the request is in the right direction.”

The Committee also noted that Parliament had already approved the policy and the allocation to the “Big Push” Programme in the 2025 Budget Statement. Granting the request would enable the Government to enter into multi-year contracts to execute the road infrastructure projects under the Programme.

“The Committee accordingly recommends to the House to approve the Request for the multi-year commitments for the selected road projects under the “Big Push” Programme contained in the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review of the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana, in accordance with Section 33 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016, (Act 921),” Mr Adongo said.

The initiative aimed at improving road infrastructure across the country is estimated at GHC13.8 billion, and it is expected to be completed by 2028 with support from the country’s own financial resources. According to the 2025 budget, the Road Fund owes GH¢5.75 billion, with an allocation of GH¢2.81 billion programmed for road maintenance.