Govern Kwame Agbodza, the Roads and Highways Minister, has announced plans to replace conventional, grid-powered streetlights with solar-powered systems across the country.
The Roads Minister highlighted that the move would reduce the impact of faults on individual streetlights, arguing that the solar-powered units can operate independently of one another.
According to Govern Kwame Agbodza, all new road projects and streetlight replacement works would now prioritise solar-powered systems.
He disclosed that the government would no longer install main-grid-powered streetlights as part of new projects.
“Government has taken a decision to replace all streetlights with solar. With solar, even if one is damaged, the others can work,” Mr Agbodza said.
In other news, over the past three years, Ghana under the NPP and NDC governments has blown an estimated GH¢8 billion on expanding streetlights across the country.
However, despite the billions spent, many major roads, highways and communities continue to be plunged into darkness at night, raising serious questions about how the funds have been used.
From Ghana’s capital, Accra, to other parts of the country, non-functioning streetlights have become a familiar sight on Ghana’s streets, with poles standing along major roads but providing little or no lighting.
The situation has renewed concerns about the efficiency, value for money and sustainability of Ghana’s streetlighting system.
In this article, we examine how Ghana spent GH¢8 billion on streetlights within just three years, while many of the streets they were meant to light up remain dark.
The information cited from The Fourth Estate revealed that Ghana, through the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, spent a whopping eight billion cedis on streetlights in 3 years.
According to reports, the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition between 2023 and 2025 awarded 88 separate contracts to 25 companies to supply streetlights through single-source tendering.
A news article filed by The Fourth Estate detailed, “Data from the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, made available to The Fourth Estate through a right to information request, shows the government awarded nine contracts for the supply of streetlights in 2023 at a total cost of GHS400 million.
In 2024, the number of contracts increased to 78 at a cost of GHS7.5 billion. As of December 2025, the current government had awarded one contract at GHS 49 million”.
However, despite massive spending, there is persistent darkness on the streets of Ghana at night due to non-functional lights, poor project delivery, substandard materials, limited supervision, and procurement infractions flagged by the Auditor-General.
Energy-sector analysts Dr Charles Gyamfi Ofori, Policy Lead for Climate Change and Energy Transition at the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), have questioned why many roads remain dark despite the billions of cedis committed to streetlight projects.
Dr Charles Gyamfi Ofori argued that the poor project deliveries and contract variations are the reason why the country is spending so much on streetlights but has little to show for it.
The articles also disclosed that the Auditor-General cited multiple infractions of streetlight procurement.
@ghnow_ Prince Kamaldeen Mohammed stops Kokou Vinyo De Souza by TKO to claim victory in the WBL Africa Continental Light Heavyweight title clash! 🥊🔥🏆 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Prince Kamaldeen Mohammed stops Kokou Vinyo De Souza by TKO to claim victory in the WBL Africa Continental Light Heavyweight title clash! 🥊🔥🏆 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
