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Stakeholders in road sector propose establishment of an Authority to coordinate affairs
Stakeholders in the roads sector have proposed to cabinet and parliament to establish one authority to coordinate the affairs of the sector.
The establishment of the single authority, they believe would ensure proper coordination and collaboration of roads activities, management, and proper efficiency of the roads sector in the country.
Stakeholders involved in the consultative forum included experts and management of the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Public Services Commission, Local Government, Members Parliamentary Select Committee, ranking members, and chairmen of the various bodies in parliament that have oversight responsibility over the roads ministry.
The forum was to enable stakeholders to discuss and share their opinion on the proposal and its corresponding Ghana National Roads Authority Bill.
The Road Minister revealed this during a stakeholder consultative forum held in Koforidua on Thursday, on the establishment of the Ghana National Authority.
The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kofi Amoako-Atta who revealed this said, it was high time the three agencies, including the Ghana Highway Authority, Department of Urban Roads and Department of Feeder roads, were brought together as one body, adding that the merge would be more cost effective.
Mr Amoako- Atta noted that since the three divisions or agencies under the roads ministry were doing the same work, it would be better they merge the agencies into one body.
“We do the same work, Highway Authority deals with truck roads throughout the country. The Urban Roads Department deals with the city roads and internal roads and Department of Feeder Roads deals with roads in the rural areas and if we merge it would be good for the benefit of the nation,”
He urged all stakeholders to bring on board their expertise and come up with different shades of good opinions to enrich the proposal for the betterment of the road sector and Ghana as a whole.
For his part, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Seth Kwame Acheampong stated that reforms such as the proposed establishment of the Ghana Roads Authority would help leverage on the competencies of the various agencies and would create the necessary synergy which would help improve the operations of the ministry.
“For us as stakeholders and end users in any reform, our primary expectation of this exercise will be for you to have an improved way of doing business which should reflect on the conditions of the roads in our communities,” he said.
Speaking on some deplorable state of roads in the region, the Regional Minister mention that N2 at Somanya, N6 at Bunso and Suhum, and N3 and N4 which enter through Nkurakan and Okorase in Koforidua respectively, Mamfe-Koforidua and Suhum- Koforidua roads were in deplorable state.
He pleaded that under the national financial difficulties, there was the need for the roads ministry to take critical look at the roads and give the maximum attention to help alleviate the plight of Ghanaians in the areas they were found.
From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
