President John Mahama has told contractors working on the Ofankor–Nsawam road project to complete the work on schedule.
Mahama highlighted that the government will hold the contractors to their June 2026 deadline.
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.
In addition, Alhassan Suhuyini, the Deputy Roads Minister, has assured Ghanaians that the Pokuase–Nsawam road project will be completed without delays.
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.
Watch the video below:
We will hold you to your word, and by the second quarter of next year, we expect construction works to be completed – President John Mahama told contractors during a working visit to the Pokuase–Nsawam road.#3NewsGH pic.twitter.com/51V2tnPm23
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) September 3, 2025