Kwame Governs Agbodza, the Minister-Designate for Roads and Highways, has expressed grave concerns over the escalating debt within the road sector.
Appearing before the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Monday, January 20, 2025, Agbodza disclosed that a GHC113 million debt in 2018 has skyrocketed to GHC665 million due to accumulated interest.
He further revealed that by 2020, the debt had climbed to GHC424 million, with accrued interest now inflating the amount to a staggering GHC1.5 billion.
Agbodza underscored the troubling financial implications of the mounting debt and shared his struggle in explaining the situation to his constituents in Adaklu.
“What we should be more worried about is if you take the indebtedness up to 2025, which is the road fund debt alone…Out of the GHC15 billion, in 2018, we were owing about GHC113 million, the interest on the GHC113 million this year will be GHC665 million. When you take 2019, the debt is GHC210 million, and the interest on the GHC210 million is GHC960 million.
“2020, we were owing GHC424 million, and the interest is GHC1.5 billion. In 2021, the debt was GHC616m, the interest currently is GHC1.69 billion. The question is how do I explain this to the taxpayers in Adaklu?
Governs Agbodza proposed implementing better contract management in the road sector, emphasizing that significant funds are being wasted. He stated firmly, “This cannot continue.”
We’ll dedicate our first year to completing abandoned projects – Agbodza