10,000km of roads: We don’t have figures to back Akufo-Addo’s claim – Contractors

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The National Chairman of the Road Contractors Association of Ghana, John Afful Jnr has negated the quantum of new roads constructed across the country contained in the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) as presented before Parliament by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Wednesday, March 30, 2022.

“As an association, we have seen the government constructing some roads but as to the quantum of roads constructed so far, we don’t have the figures,” the president of the association explained.  

“As to the quantum relating to the figure 10,000 kilometres being bandied about, I don’t have figures to back some of these claims,” he stated on the Ghana Yensom Morning Show on Accra100.5FM. 

He noted that the best institution to provide these figures to back these claims should be the Ministry of Roads and Highways.

“In my personal view, it is difficult to say what the president said was the true reflection of the state of Ghana’s roads but I think the Ministry should as a matter of urgency bring some clarity,” he stressed. 

Mr Afful said the government might have added the re-shaping and re-gravelling of some roads to the new roads constructed so far. He was quick to add that these are all new roads because they open up communities across the country.

“But as it stands now it is as if the 10,000 kilometres was the construction of asphalt roads,” he said.   

He explained that there are many varieties in the road construction sector such as re-tarring, tarring, surfacing, gravelling, asphalting, re-asphalting, re-shaping, shaping, and re-gravelling. 

He commended the government for awarding contracts to contractors in the sector but lamented that many of these contractors are yet to be paid.