Roads Minister summons contractor over five‑month delay on Techiman–Wenchi road
A monitoring visit to the Techiman–Wenchi road project turned into a public dressing-down on Monday, as Roads and Highways Minister Kwame Governs Agbodza arrived on site to find little more than cleared vegetation, five months after a contractor had received GH¢66 million in mobilization funds to kick off construction.
The minister, who was accompanied by his deputy and the Bono East Regional Minister, made no effort to conceal his frustration at what he saw.
“Look at this. Five months. Sixty-six million Ghana Cedis. What do we have? Surface clearing. No gravel, no drainage, no structure,” Agbodza said on site. “This is unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.”
Documents reviewed during the tour revealed that the mobilisation funds had been released late last year to ensure an early start to works. Instead, the contractor had proceeded at a pace the minister described as falling well outside the agreed project timeline.
Deputy Roads Minister Suhuyini reinforced that point, making clear that the funds disbursed were not a gift. Mobilisation advances, he stressed, are performance-based and exist to accelerate delivery, not stall it.
The contractor has since been summoned to appear before the ministry this Thursday, May 7, where they will be expected to demonstrate the capacity and commitment to see the project through. The minister left little room for ambiguity about what follows if that case cannot be made.
“If you cannot do the work, we will find someone who can. The President has a vision. We will not allow any individual to derail the Big Push,” Agbodza warned. “A new contractor will be appointed if necessary.”
The Bono East Regional Minister echoed that sentiment, expressing his own disappointment at the crawling pace of work. He announced that going forward, contractors across the region should expect regular, unannounced site visits as part of a broader push for accountability.
“All road contractors in this region must take caution and ensure the right things are done as per their contracts, or risk losing their contracts immediately,” he said, adding that technical audits would be rolled out across all ongoing projects to ensure compliance and prevent further delays.
For the people who travel the Techiman–Wenchi–Sawla corridor daily, Monday’s visit offered a rare moment of hope, though tempered by months of disappointment. One trader, speaking anonymously, captured the mood along the road.
“They came, they cut the grass, and we thought work would start. That was months ago. We pray the minister’s words today will become action.”
With the contractor’s ministry appearance just days away, the question now is whether the project gets a new lease of life under tighter supervision, or a new contractor entirely.
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