The Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah has noted that it was high time road construction decision is given to the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) under the supervision of the Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs).
He said by so doing, the MMDAs and the RCCs can undertake timely maintenance and manage the roads better to avoid rapid deterioration, which would require heavy funds to fix it.
According to Mr Darko-Mensah who made the remarks on the floor of Parliament, the MMDAs and the RCCs were the citizens’ first port of call regarding bad roads.
He, therefore, called on the House to consider enacting a bill that will allow the various MMDAs RCCs to construct their roads, with a certain level of funding to curb the road sector’s challenges.
Mr Darko-Mensah who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Takoradi Constituency lauded the idea of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives for road construction and said the over-centralization of road sector funds was worrying and hampering progress in the sector.
He further advocated that the bill should look at how private companies could be allowed to build certain roads within their catchment areas instead of compelling them to give the funds to the Ghana Highways Authority (GHA) and the Urban Roads Department.
He noted that such measures would save the country some money since roads done by private companies were often cheaper.
Mr Darko-Mensah, who also served on the Roads Committee of Parliament as Vice Chairperson, cited the Tarkwa – Abosso road, which was constructed by the mines at a far less cost than it would have cost the government.
