The Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, has taken a swipe at Regional Ministers and District Chief Executives for failing to report road contractors who abandon projects or deliver shoddy work.
Speaking at a stakeholder meeting with MMDCEs and Regional Ministers in Accra on Wednesday, Mr. Agbodza questioned why local government heads remain silent when contractors fail to show up on site.
“Regional Ministers, what I don’t understand is why you don’t report to me when road contractors are not working. Why are you afraid of offending them?” the Minister said.
“If you can’t do that, then this job is not for you,” he added, stressing that political appointees must prioritize public interest over contractor relationships.
The Ministry of Roads and Highways is currently auditing hundreds of road projects across the country following public complaints about stalled works and deteriorating highways. Many of the contracts were awarded between 2020 and 2024, with funds released through the Ghana Road Fund and the Annual Budget Funding Amount.
Mr. Agbodza said the Ministry relies on reports from the regions to trigger sanctions, including contract termination, blacklisting, and retrieval of mobilisation funds. “I sit in Accra. You are on the ground. If a contractor has not been to site for six months and you say nothing, you are part of the problem,” he told the officials.
Directive to MMDCEs
The Minister issued a direct instruction: all MMDCEs and Regional Ministers must submit monthly updates on the status of road projects in their jurisdictions, with photographs and contractor attendance logs. Failure to report non-performing contractors will be interpreted as “dereliction of duty,” he warned.
He added that the Ministry will publish a list of non-performing contractors every quarter and will not approve new contracts for firms that abandon existing ones.
Dean of Regional Ministers, the Ashanti Regional Minister, said the directive was “in order” but appealed for technical officers to support MMDCEs with project monitoring. “Sometimes the DCEs are not engineers. But we take the point. We must report,” he said.
President of NALAG, Hon. Kokro Amankwah, said Assemblies would comply but urged the Ministry to also pay contractors on time. “When you owe a contractor for 18 months, he leaves site. Reporting alone won’t fix that,” he noted.
The Association of Road Contractors Ghana welcomed the Minister’s stance but asked for an escrow system to guarantee payments once work is certified.
Ghana’s road sector has been plagued by delays, with the 2025 Auditor-General’s report citing GH¢2.3 billion in payments to contractors for “works not done or behind schedule.” President John Mahama in May 2026 directed all ministers to “name, shame and sanction” non-performing contractors.
Mr. Agbodza’s comments are the strongest signal yet that the Ministry will hold political heads accountable for monitoring.
“No contractor is too big to be reported. No DCE is too busy to check a road. The people drive on these roads every day. They know who is working and who is not. We should know too,” the Minister concluded.
Alexander Afriyie, supervising editor, ghanacrimereport.com and ghanatalk.com