By The Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, has directed contractors executing the government’s Big Push road projects to incorporate all necessary safety measures into their works, particularly on highways, to minimise accidents and protect road users.
He noted that inadequate safety measures at construction sites often leave residents feeling compelled to devise their own means of protecting themselves from speeding vehicles, a practice he said poses additional risks to road users.
Mr Agbodza issued the directive on Thursday during an inspection of the reconstruction of the Anyirawase–Ho–Titrinu Road in the Volta Region.
He, however, dismissed suggestions that road projects are designed based on favouritism, explaining that the scope of every project is determined by technical studies and engineering assessments.
Mr Agbodza stressed that the government would not approve variations that increase the cost of projects under the first phase of the Big Push programme.
“Under the Big Push, no variation. We will not add anything that takes the cost of any project under the phase one cedi above the contract price,” he said.
The Minister pointed out that even his own district capital had not been selected for a dual carriageway, underscoring that project designs are based on need rather than personal or political considerations.
“I am the road minister. The Big Push is not going through my district capital. We are not dualising my district capital.
“So the idea that everybody who didn’t even have a fit-for-purpose road and is getting a road now begins to say that ‘I like the road, but I want it bigger’—the engineers have thought about it. Where there’s dual carriage, there’s dual carriage. They didn’t consider Adaklu as needing a dual carriage now.”
He appealed to residents to support the implementation of the programme’s current phase, saying that not all communities could receive expanded road infrastructure at the same time.
Mr Agbodza acknowledged concerns raised by the Volta Regional Minister and opinion leaders who argued that neighbouring communities had been allocated dual carriageways while theirs had not.
Referring to the neighbouring constituencies of Agotime-Ziope and Adaklu, he maintained that the allocation of road projects was never based on favouritism but on the recommendations of engineers following detailed technical evaluations.
He reiterated that the government remained committed to delivering quality road infrastructure under the Big Push initiative while ensuring projects are completed within their approved budgets and according to engineering specifications.
