President of the Ghana Road Contractors Association, John Afful, has stated that the majority of roads in the country have been halted as a result of unpaid arrears from the government.

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President Akufo-Addo has declared his willingness to improve the road infrastructure in the country. To ensure this, he declared the year 2020 the “Year of Roads.” After its initiation, new roads were constructed and bad roads were improved.

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2022 is the third time the government has declared it the “Year of Roads,” but it seems the government is yet to achieve its goals in line with this.

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Some road projects in the country have been abandoned by the government for reasons unknown to Ghanaians.

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Therefore, citizens for some time now have protested against the bad state and neglected roads in the country.

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In the midst of the heat, the President has maintained that, no other government in the Fourth Republic's history, has built more roads than his.

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“The road infrastructure that has been established since I became president, let me use this famous word, is unprecedented. We have never seen so much in the road sector. Let's put it as far as the 4th Republic is concerned. The Roads Minister likes to say, since independence," he said.

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"I just want to be a little more modest and compare apples and apples, and not apples and oranges. And I’m saying that the roads infrastructure that has taken place under Akufo-Addo's NPP government, is without equal in this 4th Republic,” he added.

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However, the president, who was speaking to the media on Monday, August 22, 2022, in the Upper West Region, said, "Contractors are not going to be left high and dry. At the end of the day, if they don't get paid, the development of our road infrastructure stalls. Things are going to work out, they are definitely going to work out.”

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But speaking to the media on Tuesday, November 22, Mr Afful indicated that, government has paid no heed to calls from the association demanding payment of their outstanding arrears.

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“It is something that is very worrisome that we are chasing, so when people go around, and they find out the projects are not being done, it is mainly because the projects are not being paid for, and it has affected all contractors in the country, and they have huge debts to pay.”

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Meanwhile, the head of public relations at the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Ahmed Yartey, reacting to the claims by the contractors, said it is not entirely accurate to suggest that all projects supported by the government have come to a standstill.

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He added that, while some GoG-funded initiatives are successfully making progress, others have halted as a result of inflation and the rising cost of living.

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Despite this, Mr Yartey assured that the government will, in due time, settle all arrears owed contractors.

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“I can also say that about 95 percent of the asphalt overlay you see around are GoG-funded projects and not foreign-funded projects.

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“Some local contractors are struggling, I will not say it is not a fact some are going through it…prices have gone up, prices of bitumen are up and all those things affect road construction and the capital of contractors,” he said.

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Source: The Independent Ghana

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