Parliament passes Bill to establish National Roads Authority

The
Parliament
of
Ghana
on
July
4
passed
a
bill
establishing
the
National
Roads
Authority.

This
was
after
the
Minister
for
Roads
and
Highways,
Francis
Asenso-Boakye
had
moved
a
motion
in
the
house
during
the
third
reading
of
the
National
Roads
Authority
Bill.

“The
primary
objective
of
this
Bill
is
to
establish
the
National
Roads
Authority,
an
autonomous
body
responsible
for
planning,
developing,
maintaining,
and
managing
Ghana’s
national
road
network,”
the
Minister
stated.

According
to
Mr
Asenso-Boakye,
“this
new
entity
will
streamline
the
management
of
Ghana’s
national
roads
by
bringing
together
the
three
key
agencies
currently
under
the
Ministry
—
Ghana
Highway
Authority,
the
Department
of
Urban
Roads,
and
the
Department
of
Feeder
Roads
—
into
a
single
authority.”

Under
the
new
arrangement,
the
management
of
trunk
roads,
arterial
roads,
collector
roads
and
district
and
inter-district
roads
would
be
placed
under
the
jurisdiction
of
the
National
Roads
Authority.

It
could
be
recalled
that
last
year,
the
Cabinet
approved
the
establishment
of
the
National
Roads
Authority
to
address
certain
pertinent
challenges
in
the
roads
sector
such
as
lack
of
coordination,
duplicated
efforts,
insufficient
maintenance,
inconsistent
standards
and
project
delays.

These
challenges
adversely
affect
the
road
network’s
quality,
safety
and
sustainability,
thus
impeding
economic
growth
and
social
development.

The
establishment
of
the
National
Roads
Authority
is
therefore
vital
for
the
achievement
of
a
well-planned,
well-maintained
and
safe
road
network
in
Ghana.