The Former Minister for Roads and Highways, Francis Asenso-Boakye has described recent comments made by the Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Agbodza, during his press briefing, as not only misleading but reflect a worrying pattern of deliberate distortion and double standards.
During the press briefing at the Jubilee House on July 30, Mr Governs Kwame Agbodza, cast doubt on former President Akufo-Addo’s assertion that his administration constructed over 10,000 kilometres of roads across the country.
According to the Minister, his nationwide tour of road infrastructure since taking office revealed a stark contrast to the figures previously touted by the former administration.
He noted that despite extensive travel across the country, his team was unable to verify the existence of even a fraction of the roads reportedly built.
“As soon as I assumed office, I went around the country to see the roads in Ghana,” he said. “What I saw was that the over 10,000km of roads former President Akufo-Addo claimed he had constructed cannot be found. In fact, not even a 1,000 kilometre of good road was seen,” he stated.
In a statement posted on his Facebook page on July 30, the MP for Bantama gave detailed accounts on road projects in the country under the former NPP administration.
“On the over 13,000km Roads Constructed under President Akufo-Addo, the Minister claims that President Akufo-Addo’s widely acknowledged achievement of constructing over 10,000 kilometers of roads is a “mirage” because he “did not see them” during his tour,” he stated.
According to Asenso-Boakye, “this is not only disingenuous, but a gross attempt to politicize hard facts.”
Read the statement below:
Let us set the record straight:
Between 2017 and the end of 2024, the Akufo-Addo administration undertook road projects totaling 13,624 kilometers. This is in clear contrast to the 4,636 kilometers executed under the eight-year Mills–Mahama administration.
These 13,000+ kilometers comprise:
• New construction
• Asphalt overlays
• Graveling and re-graveling
• Reconstruction and partial reconstruction
• Upgrading and rehabilitation works
These facts have been presented repeatedly, yet Hon. Agbodza continues to ignore them; perhaps because the unprecedented scale of road development under President Akufo-Addo unsettles the current administration.
It must be emphasized that the data at the Ministry of Roads and Highways is compiled not by politicians, but by qualified civil servants. Specifically, the Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate, which remains intact even after the Minister reshuffled all other directorates, is responsible for tracking and reporting on completed road projects.
If the Minister has doubts about the data, he should have the courage and sincerity to confront the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation; not resort to cheap political propaganda aimed at tarnishing a legacy that outshines anything his party achieved in office.
2. On the Use of Single-Source Procurement
It is equally troubling that the same Minister who, upon assuming office, loudly criticized the Akufo-Addo administration for employing single-source procurement methods, is now making a complete U-turn.
At today’s press briefing, Hon. Agbodza stated that “once you have the Engineer’s Estimate, it doesn’t matter which procurement method you use.” This blatant contradiction not only exposes his double standards, but raises serious questions about his integrity.
You cannot demonize a method when others use it, only to defend it when you find yourself in the same position. If the Minister now believes that procurement should be guided by technical evaluations (as it should be), then he owes the previous administration an apology for the misleading accusations.
The Ministry of Roads and Highways is a technical institution, not a propaganda arm for political spin. If Hon. Agbodza wants to be taken seriously, he must rise above selective memory and partisan grandstanding. Ghanaians deserve honest, data-driven leadership; not empty rhetoric.
