The Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, has given the strongest indication yet that the government will sustain its aggressive inspection regime on road projects across the country until contractors complete and hand over the projects to the state.
Speaking during a working tour of major road projects in the Greater Accra Region on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, Mr Agbodza made it clear that the inspections were not a one-off exercise but part of the Ministry’s broader strategy to monitor progress, ensure quality and secure value for money on government-funded road projects.
“We told the contractors we are never going to leave the site until they hand over the job to us, so we are not doing a one-off visit,” Mr Agbodza said.
He explained that the Ministry’s repeated visits were intended to keep contractors focused on their work while providing an opportunity to identify and address challenges that could affect project delivery.
“As you said, this is the third time we are here. We are going to be on the contractors, and many of them are happy to see us every day,” he said.
According to the Minister, contractors who were making progress welcomed the inspections because they allowed the Ministry to assess their work and engage directly with them on issues requiring attention.
“Truth be told, if you are working, you actually want us to come around every day to watch. It is only those people who are not working that, when they hear we are coming, then they are worried,” he said.
Nationwide inspection tour
The inspection tour, which began on August 19, covers high-priority infrastructure corridors across the country, including the Accra-Tema Motorway extension, the Adenta-Dodowa road and the Tema-Aflao rehabilitation project.
In the Greater Accra Region alone, the Minister inspected several key projects: the La Beach Road Completion Project (Phases 1 and 2) being executed by Oswal Investment Limited; the Accra–Tema Motorway Extension Project covering 27.7 kilometres; the Tema Roundabout–Tetteh Quarshie Interchange covering 19.5 kilometres being executed by Maripoma Enterprise Limited; the rehabilitation of the Tema–Aflao Road being undertaken by First Sky Limited and BHM Construction Limited; the reconstruction of the Dodowa–Afienya–Dawhenya Road; and the dualisation of the 22-kilometre Adenta–Dodowa Road.
The tour has since extended to the Ashanti Region, where Mr Agbodza inspected the Suame Interchange Project—Phase 2 of which has reached 87 per cent completion and is on course to be opened to traffic by the end of October 2026. Phase 2 covers the construction of three overpasses at key junctions, with work at Anomangye Junction and Magazine New Road Junction fully completed, while the overpass at Abusuakruwa Junction stands at 98.25 per cent completion.
In the Bono Region, the Minister inspected the 80-kilometre Jinijini-Sampa road project being undertaken by Rango Construction Company Limited, expressing confidence that the project could be completed ahead of schedule. He stressed the importance of the road to communities and farmers along the corridor, particularly cashew producers who had previously struggled to transport and sell their produce due to the poor state of the road.
‘Work around the clock’
At the Tema Roundabout–Tetteh Quarshie Interchange project, Mr Agbodza directed the contractor, Maripoma Enterprise Limited, to introduce night shifts and increase the pace of construction to ensure the project is delivered on time. The 19.5-kilometre stretch is currently about 50 per cent complete and marginally behind schedule.
The Minister urged the contractor to take advantage of the government’s 24-hour economy initiative to speed up work. He wants activities that cause major disruptions to traffic to be undertaken largely at night, while less disruptive work is carried out during the day.
“A project like this, elsewhere, will be done 24/7. There’s no reason why you cannot work even more at night than the day,” the Minister said. “I’m encouraging you to take advantage of the President’s 24-hour economy to do more of the disruptive works at night and rather scale down during the day and make certain or dedicated lanes available for the public to use during the day”.
Mr Agbodza commended the contractor for completing the main bridge without any incident involving road users, despite the location being one of the busiest intersections in the capital. However, he stressed that the contractor must now raise the tempo to prevent further delays, noting that commuters had endured the disruption for a considerable period and expected the project to be completed within the agreed timeframe.
“We are hopeful that we can still complete this on schedule. Because the motoring public can’t understand why they have to go through this for that long period. So please, endeavour to make sure that we meet the target,” he said.
GH¢24 billion released for road projects
Addressing contractors during the inspection, Mr Agbodza emphasised that the government had fulfilled its financial obligations and prioritised payments to contractors. He disclosed that President John Dramani Mahama had authorised more than GH¢24 billion to settle inherited arrears and fund ongoing road construction projects.
“Like I have been saying, President Mahama and the Finance Minister have prioritised payment of road contractors. As of today, since the President took office in 2025 to today, he has authorised payments to road contractors to the tune of GH¢24 billion, covering both arrears and ongoing projects,” Mr Agbodza stated.
He stressed that with financial bottlenecks addressed, contractors could no longer cite delays in government payments as an excuse for slow progress on projects. “So there is no issue about priority projects lacking commitment in terms of payment. In the past, contractors delayed because of lack of payment from government. These projects are not suffering the same level of delays. So we want to see you working,” he added.
Commitment to inherited projects
The Minister also affirmed the government’s commitment to completing projects inherited from the previous administration rather than abandoning them.
“We are not only doing new projects. Every single project, be it a road or school project that we came to meet, the President is continuing them,” he said during the Jinijini-Sampa road inspection.
He explained that the government’s road programme was intended to address broader challenges, including economic development and security, while improving access to essential services.
“And the President promised that this is why we are doing this. It is not merely building a road; it will make sure that the cashew farmers on this corridor will have better prices, sell, bring the money, and develop their families,” he remarked.
Warning against compensation manipulation
During the tour, Mr Agbodza also raised concerns about practices that delay road projects, warning that the government is considering reporting two quantity surveyors to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) over alleged attempts to inflate compensation claims for properties affected by road projects.
According to him, some surveyors allegedly persuade project-affected persons to reject government valuations, promising to secure compensation several times higher than the amounts assessed by authorised state agencies. The practice, he said, has cost the state significant amounts of money while causing unnecessary delays to road projects.
“We are looking at the possibility of reporting two of those people to EOCO for investigation,” he said. He warned that surveyors who encourage affected persons to reject government valuations could soon face investigations.
“So if you are part of those people, anytime we do valuation, you tell people don’t accept it, we’ll get you four times, and then you delay the project, very soon EOCO will be at your door,” he warned.
The Minister questioned how independent surveyors could arrive at valuations significantly higher than those conducted by surveyors working with the Ghana Highway Authority, Urban Roads and other government agencies.
“The people who value these properties from the Ghana Highway Authority, Urban Roads and others are the same surveyors; they went to the same school. How come when they finish their evaluation, somebody comes and tells the project-affected people, I can get you four times that amount of money?” he asked.
‘Not an event but an evolution’
Mr Agbodza said the inspections would cover road projects across the country as the Ministry seeks to ensure that public funds invested in infrastructure translate into completed, quality roads for Ghanaians.
“This is one of the projects that we are convinced we can finish ahead of the schedule, but the contractor should not be carried away with all the good things,” he cautioned during one of the inspections.
The Minister acknowledged that some projects were slightly behind schedule but expressed confidence that the level of activity at the sites would enable contractors to recover lost time.
“In any case, you are slightly below schedule, but the level of mobilisation we see here, we have no doubt that you can catch up and go ahead of that shortly,” he said.
The nationwide inspection exercise is aimed at ensuring value for money and strict adherence to project completion timelines, with the Minister making clear that the government will not relent in its oversight until every project is delivered.
