Deliver safe infrastructure - GhIE President urges road sector stakeholders
The President of the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE), Ludwig Annang Hesse, has called on road sector stakeholders to prioritise safety, integrity, and proper planning in delivering infrastructure across the country.
Mr Hesse stressed that Ghana must move beyond rhetoric and ensure that infrastructure is safe, durable, efficient, and aligned with national development goals.
Highlighting alarming road safety statistics, he revealed that 14,743 crashes were recorded in 2025 — a 9.3 per cent increase over the previous year — with 3,653 fatalities, representing a 21.5 per cent rise, which translates to about 10 deaths daily on the country’s roads.
He recommended regular maintenance of road signs and markings on major highways, stricter axle load enforcement using modern weigh-in-motion systems, and targeted strategies to address motorcycle-related fatalities.
“We must place high value on human life,” he stated, urging authorities to implement practical, data-driven safety measures.
Event
Mr Hesse was speaking at the 53rd Presidential Address, a flagship annual event of the GhIE, where each successive president delivers an address focused on a chosen theme: or area of interest.
This year’s address, held last Friday in Accra, was on the theme: “Do It Well, Do It Right: A Focus on Roads in Ghana.”
At the end of the address, many of the 100-paged booklets autographed by Mr Hesse were auctioned to generate funds for the institution.
Joshua Generation
Framing his address as a moral and professional challenge, Mr Hesse urged what he described as a “Joshua Generation” of engineers and leaders to move Ghana from “wilderness to promise.”
Drawing on nearly 40 years of experience in the road sector, including service at the Ghana Highway Authority, he said the country’s challenge was not the absence of policies, but the lack of consistent implementation.
Mr Hesse, who is the 56th President of the GhIE, revealed inconsistencies in road condition data across agencies and called for the urgent establishment of an integrated road inventory and condition database.
He lamented that Ghana had failed to achieve its long-standing “70-20-10” road condition target (70 per cent good, 20 per cent fair, 10 per cent poor), noting that current figures show deterioration rather than improvement.
“If we commit to integrity, if we follow the data, if we respect engineering judgement, then Ghana will not simply build roads.
We will build prosperity, we will build resilience, we will build a future worthy of our children," he said.
Proper planning
Mr Hesse cautioned against awarding road contracts without sustainable financing and comprehensive planning.
He questioned whether recent large-scale projects had undergone full feasibility studies, traffic surveys, environmental assessments, safety audits, and peer reviews before procurement.
“All major projects must be fully designed and costed before procurement,” he said, and added that consultants must be engaged as a matter of policy to ensure technical rigour and independent oversight.
He emphasised that quality management must span planning, design, construction, and maintenance stages to prevent premature road failures.
