Former Minister for Roads and Highways, Francis Asenso-Boakye, rebutted claims made by the current Roads Minister, Kwame Agbodza, regarding the record of road construction under the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration.
Mr. Agbodza had questioned the credibility of the previous administration’s touted achievement of constructing over 13,000 kilometers of roads. He described the figure as exaggerated and unsubstantiated based on his recent inspections across the country.
However, in a sharp response, Mr. Asenso-Boakye described the Minister’s comments as not only misleading, but part of a worrying pattern of deliberate distortion and double standards.”
According to him, “Between 2017 and the end of 2024, the Akufo-Addo administration delivered a total of 13,724 kilometers of road projects.” He added that these works encompassed new constructions, as well as various forms of rehabilitation, including graveling, upgrading, and partial reconstruction.
He insisted the figures were accurate and verifiable. “The data at the Ministry of Roads and Highways is compiled not by politicians, but by qualified engineers. Specifically, the Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate, which remains intact even after the current Minister reshuffled other directors, is responsible for tracking and reporting on all completed road projects,” Asenso-Boakye stated.
He explained that the only director retained after Agbodza’s reshuffle was the head of Monitoring and Evaluation, the same person who had compiled the road data during his (Asenso-Boakye’s) tenure.
“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,” Asenso-Boakye added.
The former minister criticized Hon. Kwame Agbodza for what he claimed was an apparent reversal on the use of single-source procurement methods. He recalled how Agbodza previously condemned the Akufo-Addo government for using single sourcing, but now appears to defend the same approach.
“At today’s press conference, he said once the engineers prepare the estimate, it doesn’t matter the procurement method used. Is this not double standards? You cannot demonize a method that others used, only to defend it when you find yourself in the same situation,” he stated.
He urged his successor to uphold the technical integrity of the Ministry, arguing that the Ministry of Roads and Highways is a technical institution, not a propaganda outlet for political spin.
“If Hon. Agbodza wants to be taken seriously, he must rise above political partisanship and provide honest, data-driven communication,” he said.
