The Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, has asked the former Roads Minister, Francis Asenso-Boakye, how he paid the contractor of the Ofankor-Nsawam road $200 million, yet the contractor received only $195 million.
Francis Asenso-Boakye, in a social media post, criticised President Mahama’s remarks about the loan taken for the Ofankor–Nsawam Road project.
Speaking in an interview with Accra-based Joy News on Thursday, September 4, 2025, Agbodza clarified, “President Mahama is not saying that the project is entirely paid for, yet the contractor did not work. He’s saying you said you prioritised it and took a loan for that project. Is it the case that what you took was not enough loan, or you forgot about the scope of the work?” he quizzed.
“So, I’m not sure why he’s having a problem with that, because at the end of the day, the person using that corridor today is concerned that the road has been abandoned. He wants the road fixed, and that is exactly what President Mahama is referring to,” Kwama Agbodza said in the interview.
He explained,“Let’s go to the point he made. The president made a point that the NPP said, that the road was a priority, and they took a loan of $750 million from Afreximbank. According to the former minister, my good friend, they allocated $200 million to that project. The total cost of the project is around $340 million.
“In the first place, why were we awarding a GOG-funded project in dollars, in clear contravention of the Bank of Ghana rules. This is another matter we can discuss on a different day … Now, he says they allocated $200 million, but on record, what the contractor was paid was $195 million.
“…So that is another question we need to ask. He needs to respond to how come he paid $200 million, yet the contractor received $195 million,” he stated.
His comment comes after Francis Asenso-Boakye 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.