Francis Asenso-Boakye, a former Minister of Roads and Highways, has replied to President John Dramani Mahama’s claim on the loan taken for the Ofankor-Nsawam Road project, which was exhausted with the project still not over.
President John Mahama, during a visit to the Ofankor-Nsawam Road project, cried out that a loan was taken for the Ofankor–Nsawam road under the erstwhile Akufo-Addo government, but the money has elapsed without the road being completed.
Mahama further urged contractors working on the Ofankor–Nsawam road project to complete the work on schedule.
He highlighted that, as his government is committed to paying the contractors well, they must commit to moving faster on the road and also use quality materials.
President Mahama, on Wednesday, September 3, inspected the ongoing works on the key arterial road.
Speaking at the site of the Ofankor–Nsawam road project, John Mahama stated, “A loan was taken for this project and I don’t understand why the money is finished and the project is not over”.
“We are now having to pay an additional 78 million cedis from government funds. We need to find out what really happened, whether the estimates were wrong or something else went wrong.”
He added, “I can see that drivers are happy now, and I hope that from now till you finish the project, you will maintain a smooth flow of traffic even as you are working so that you don’t impede the flow of traffic”.
“So we will hold you to your work. You say by the end of the second quarter next year you should be finished.”
President Mahama further urged the contractors to use quality materials.
“As the government commits to paying you well, you too must commit to moving faster on the road and also use quality materials. One of the major problems with road contractors in this country is the quality of materials.
You build the road, and after a short while, the road starts to deteriorate. Your company is one of the world’s most well-known contracting companies. We hope that this will be a mark of the quality of your brand,” he said.
Also, Ing. Kwabena Bimpong, the Chief Resident Engineer of the Rehabilitation of the Ofankor–Nsawam Road (Dual Carriage), reassured the government of their commitment to meet the second quarter of 2026 deadline.
Reacting to President Mahama’s claims, Asenso-Boakye, in a Facebook post, stated that Mahama’s claims were misleading.
He described the claims as “an unfortunate attempt to misrepresent well-established facts for political gain.”
According to him, the total cost of the Ofankor-Nsawam Road project was $346.4 million, and the government contracted a loan of $200 million from Afreximbank for the project.
Asenso-Boakye revealed that the government was supposed to cover the remaining cost of the project, $146.4 million.
“The Afreximbank facility was always designed as a partial financing instrument, with the balance to be covered through Government of Ghana budgetary allocations.
“For the President to suggest that the funds have been exhausted without the project being completed is simply inaccurate, unless he has been wrongly briefed. He knows very well that the Afreximbank facility did not represent the full financing requirement,” Asenso Boakye stated.
Meanwhile, the deputy road minister apologised to motorists for the inconvenience caused by the prolonged delay.
Speaking at the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament on Wednesday, August 20, Alhassan Suhuyini stated, “I will first of all apologise to all motorists on that stretch. It is one of the potatoes that we inherited at the ministry. By the time we got to the ministry, the contractor, like many other contractors across the country, had already abandoned the site due to non-payment, and we have been working with the Finance Minister to ensure that we get some releases to these contractors so they can go back to the site.
“This contractor, as we speak, has received some payment and has adequately mobilised back to the site. It is not going to be a nine-day wonder; he is back to site,” Mr. Suhuyini guaranteed.
Meanwhile, Kwasi Agyei, the Controller and Accountant General, has revealed that GH¢809 million has been paid to the contractor working on the Pokuase–Nsawam Highway.
The Controller and Accountant General announced that the money was paid on August 4, 2025.
Kwasi Agyei added that the government has fully met its financial obligations towards the project.
Speaking in an interview on Peace FM on Monday, August 18, the Controller and Accountant General stated, “On July 24, we gave part payment; on July 30, another tranche; and on August 4, the final payment. Altogether, we have honoured the request in full, amounting to about GH¢809 million”.
The Controller and Accountant General announcement comes just days before the one-week ultimatum issued by the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU).
The GPRTU had earlier threatened to suspend operations on Wednesday, August 20, if the government failed to get the contractor back on site.
However, reports suggest the contractors of the Pokuase–Nsawam have returned to continue repair works.
Speaking on Sedem Afenyo, the Member of Parliament for Amasaman, stated, “Saturday in morning, I realised some work was being done here. Sunday, I went to church when I came back, and they were still working. Today they’ve moved to Sapeiman and Samsam junction. I drove to Samsam, and I realised that they have done a bit of filling. Sapeiman, they have done a bit of levelling, or let me say reshaping, and a bit of refilling”.
“What we’ve seen now is a situation we’ve not seen in the past two months. I have never seen vehicles drive at this speed in the past two weeks. There is always traffic here.
“The engineers I spoke to told me they are hoping to finish this stretch as in the filling and levelling of the road, by close this week. That is, if there is no rain, move to the other side, asphalt it for us and then move traffic flow to the other side and then work on this side,” the MP added.
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