Roads Ministry holds stakeholders’ meeting on proposed National Roads Authority

The Ministry of Roads and Highways has held a stakeholders’ consultative forum on the establishment of the Ghana National Roads Authority in Koforidua, the capital of the Eastern Region.

The Ghana National Roads Authority bill, which was proposed by the ministry and the Attorney General’s Department, has been approved by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Once it is passed by cabinet and Parliament, it will bring together the existing three road agencies: the Ghana Highways Authority, the Department of Urban Roads, and the Department of Feeder Roads, into a unified authority.

The Ghana National Roads Authority will be a unified body responsible for the planning, development, maintenance, and management of the national road network in Ghana. It will also be responsible for providing related matters, such as road safety and traffic management.

The country’s trunk road system, arterial road system, collector road system, and district and inter-district roads will all be under the jurisdiction of the Ghana National Roads Authority.

In an interview with the media after addressing the stakeholders on the draft Ghana National Roads Authority bill, sector minister Kwasi Amoako-Attah said that the integration of the three road agencies aims to streamline operations, enhance coordination, and maximize the impact of investments in the road sector to serve the needs of both urban and rural areas.

“We are proposing to cabinet and eventually to parliament the establishment of one authority for the roads sector instead of the current three divisions that we have: the Ghana Highways Authority, the Department of Feeder Roads, and the Department of Urban Roads. We do the same work,” he said.

“The Highway Authority deals with trunk roads throughout the country. The urban roads deals with city roads and internal roads, and the Department of Feeder Roads deals with roads that lead to rural areas. But I think it is time that we bring all these three agencies together for the proper efficiency of the roads sector, and it will be more cost-effective,” he stated.

The Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Kwame Acheampong, who expressed concern about the deplorable state of roads linking the regional capital, made a passionate appeal to the Ministry of Roads and Highways to make some improvements in that regard.