Gov`t invests ¢4.6 trillion in roads sector... during 2006 fiscal year

The Minister of Transportation, Dr. Richard Anane has revealed that the government made a whooping GH¢460 million (about 4trillion old Cedis) investment in the road sector during the 2006 fiscal year alone.

He said, as a result of good policies by the government the road network in the country has also increased from 39,000 kilometers in 2001 to the current 62,000 kilometers. The road condition mix had improved from 27% good, 17% fair, and 56% bad as in 2001 to 46% good, 29% fair, and 25% bad as at the end of 2006.

Dr. Anane, who was speaking at a Road Fund Forum at Bolgatanga, in the Upper Region recently, however, said the situation could have been far better if the revenue base was widened.

He noted that the contributions of GHp 6.00 on every liter of fuel that Ghanaians purchase at the fuel stations and the GHp 5.00 road tolls for small vehicles were very low for any meaningful impact to be made on the road maintenance programmes.

This, he noted, has compelled government and its development partners to continue to bear the cost of re-gravelling, resealing and reconstruction of the roads, in order to preserve the investments made in them.

The Minister said over the past two years, government had engaged stake holders in the Transportation Industry on the need to improve on the receipts for the fund. His crusade for upward adjustments received remarkable support.

The Road Fund Act, Act 536 was passed by parliament in 1997 to establish the Road Fund Board, with the main aim of addressing the shortfall in the financing gap in the road maintenance.

Dr. Anane said the Act specified the derivation of these funds from levy on fuel, fees from registration of vehicles, road user fees, road tolls, bridge tolls, ferry tolls and international transit fees. Revenue accruals into the fund are to be mainly dedicated to routine and periodic maintenance of the country's road network. According to the Transport Minister, the total revenue generated between 2000 and 2007 by the Fund was GH¢ 577.6 million. It has projected that for 2008, an amount of GH¢ 129 million would accrue to the Fund to enable it meet part of transportation facilities, the movement of between 94-97% of goods, persons, and services.

Mr. Alhassan Samari, Upper East Regional minister, bewailed the deplorable condition of most of the roads in the region, especially during the rainy season, describing it as a big source of worry to the chiefs and people of the region.

He disclosed that, 54 feeder roads with a total distance of 542 kilometers were washed away, while 427.4 kilometers of highways were also affected, with many bridges and culverts washed away.

Mr. Samari said in order to mitigate the suffering the people went through obout the roads, government has released GH¢ 1.5 million for emergency road works, which were ongoing.

Some officials of the Transportation Ministry expressed displeasure over the nature of deep potholes on the Tamale-Bolgatanga road, and urged the Ghana Highways Authority to ensure that these potholes were quickly filled.

In attendance were the Chief Director at the Ministry of Transportation, Mr. A. Twumasi-Boakye, Mr. Dugan, Deputy Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, Albert Kweku Obbin, MP for Prestea-Huni-Valley, and Chairman of Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transportation.

Municipal/District Chief Executives, Managing Directors of Construction Firms/Contractors, Heads and Representatives of Departments and Agencies, the media and stakeholders in the road industry also attended.

At the end of the forum, the Participants unanimously passed a resolution that levy on fuel, fees from registration of vehicles, road user fees, road tolls, bridge tolls, ferry tolls and international transit fees should be implemented and added to the road Fund for the maintenance of roads.