Ralph Poku-Adusei, Member of Parliament for Bekwai, has raised concerns in Parliament over the stalled rehabilitation of key roads in his constituency, urging the Ministry of Roads and Highways, led by Kwame Governs Agbodza, to provide clear timelines for completion.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, Mr Poku-Adusei asked the Minister for Roads and Highways about the steps being taken to ensure the permanent rehabilitation of the “Kensere-Pampaso Road,” Pampaso Road, and Dutum-Koniyaw Road.
According to the MP, the Ken Sere Pampaso Feeder Road, also recorded in the Department of Feeder Roads database as the Ankasi Ken Sere Humasi Feeder Road, is a 9.4-kilometre inter-district road connecting the Bekwai Municipality to the Amansi Central District of the Ashanti Region.
He noted that the road is an engineered gravel road in poor surface condition and requires urgent attention.
Mr Poku-Adusei highlighted that the project, which was awarded in May 2022, has seen only 19 percent completion. He expressed concern that the contractor is currently not on site, and efforts to get the work resumed have so far been unsuccessful.
“The situation in the constituency is quite dire,” Mr Poku-Adusei told Parliament, emphasizing that the delays in work were due to late payments to contractors. He sought clarity from the Minister on any timelines for these payments to ensure that contractors could return to the site and complete the roads.
In response, Kwame Governs Agbodza, the Minister for Roads and Highways, sympathized with the MP, explaining that the delays were mainly due to funding constraints under the COCO Board road programme.
The Minister stated that the programme had awarded projects beyond its sustainable funding capacity, and the government is working to rationalize the programme and identify a more reliable source of funding for contractors to resume work.
Mr Poku-Adusei further requested that the Minister provide the House with the contract sums for the two projects, noting that he had been reliably informed that mobilization payments had already been made in both cases.
In response, Kwame Governs Agbodza, Minister for Roads and Highways, acknowledged the concern, describing the question as “well placed.”
He explained that one of the challenges is the mismatch between awarded contracts and available funding.
“The easiest way to avoid contractors being given contracts and then not being paid is to ensure that we only award contracts when we can fund them,” he said.
The Minister admitted that Members of Parliament often face pressure from constituents to intervene on local roads, which can lead to contracts being approved beyond what the state can realistically fund.
He highlighted the discrepancy between the Ministry’s capital expenditure allocation and actual commitments. While the budget allocated about 2.53 billion Ghana cedis for road projects, the Ministry’s obligations exceeded 101 billion Ghana cedis, not including approximately 30 billion Ghana cedis worth of completed works still unpaid.
“Prudence in awarding only what we can fund would have been the solution, but I know it’s easier said than done,” Mr. Agbodza added.
Following the Minister’s explanation, Mr Edusei expressed satisfaction with the response. “Mr Speaker, I want to thank the Minister for the explanation, and I’m satisfied,” he said.
