The Minister of Roads and Highway in Ghana Kwesi Amoako-Atta. Photo: AdomOnline

Accra, Dec. 31, 2017 (AltAfrika)-About 61 per cent of roads in the country have been classified as poor, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwesi Amoako-Atta has revealed.

According to Mr. Amoako-aAtta, there are approximately 72,000 kilometres of roads in the country out of which 23 per cent had been asphalted with 39 per cent in good condition and 61 per cent could be classified as fair or poor.

“Ghana is 60 years old and if you travel abroad, you realised that we’re lagging behind in terms of road infrastructure so we need to do something about it,” Mr Amoako-Atta noted at the swearing-in of a nine-member Ministerial Advisory Board of the Ministry of Roads and Highways in Accra, on Thursday.

The Minister, therefore, urged the Board to bring their expertise and experiences on board to move the government’s agenda of ensuring quality roads across the country was realised.

“So as members of the Board we must collectively ensure that our roads are in good shape and safe as well as ensuring value for money,” he said.

Mr Amoako-Atta, who is also the Chairperson of the Advisory Board, further announced that the government has paid over one billion Ghana Cedis within the past 11 months to road contractors as outstanding arrears for work executed during the era of the John Mahama government.

GNA