Gov’t Owes Road Contractors GHC21 Billion – Roads Minister Reveals

The Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, has disclosed that the government currently owes road contractors an estimated GHC 21 billion in arrears—a financial burden that has largely stalled progress on numerous construction projects across the country.

Mr. Agbodza explained that many contractors abandoned sites long before the 2025 transition period due to delayed payments while speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, July 8.

“At the time of transition, we are told that the majority of road contractors were actually off-site simply because they did some work, raised a certificate and were not paid. Some of them, as far back as 2018.

Their certificates were not honoured, and so while they borrowed money, put in the work and were not paid, it was not feasible for them to continue to work,” he stated.

According to the minister, the situation has left major infrastructure projects incomplete and contractors financially burdened, many of whom had secured loans to execute their assignments.

Mr. Agbodza also noted that the government is taking steps to reduce the debt.

He referenced President John Dramani Mahama’s recent address, which hinted at efforts to begin settling part of the arrears.

“If you listened to His Excellency the President yesterday, he indicated that toward the end of this month, the Finance Minister will be taking steps to retire some of the debts owed to contractors so that they can go back to site and complete the work.

“On record, we are intending to pay some GHC 4 billion towards retiring part of the GHC 21 billion from this month,” the minister revealed.

Clearly, Nana Akufo-Addo and his cohorts discovered numerous ways to exploit the country for their own gain before leaving office.

Leaving contractors unpaid and shifting the responsibility onto the new administration is likely to hinder their operations and foster discontent among them.

Fortunately, Ghanaians are now discerning in the current political landscape and understand how to respond appropriately during election periods.

Source: Liberalprint.com