GHA launches 50th anniversary
The Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) has launched its 50th anniversary with a renewed emphasis on prioritising the maintenance of the country's road network.
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Speaking at the launch in Accra yesterday, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Francis Asenso-Boakye, announced that the ministry had designed a new policy aimed at allocating about 60 per cent of the annual maintenance budget to support critical maintenance activities.
These include pothole patching on major trunk roads, in urban areas, spot improvements and reshaping of feeder roads.
Funding
In addition to the increased funding allocation, the minister revealed that the ministry was also setting up a maintenance call centre and a Maintenance App as part of an enhanced road maintenance programme.
This innovative solution, he said, had been designed to address public concerns on road defects swiftly and efficiently through a participatory approach. "The Call Centre and the App will allow the public to report potholes and other road defects by submitting photos of the issues from their geographical locations in real-time.
“The ministry will then address these concerns as quickly as possible,” Mr Asenso-Boakye said. The minister emphasised that this digital solution would leverage the power of technology to enhance the road sector's responsiveness and effectiveness, ensuring that Ghana's transportation infrastructure continued to serve the needs of the people.
“As we look to the future, our mission remains clear: to continue developing world-class road infrastructure that supports sustainable development, enhances safety and promotes economic growth,” he said.
Anniversary
The 30th anniversary is on the theme; “Development and maintenance of quality highways: retrospect and prospects”. Activities lined up for the celebration are engagement of subject matter experts in the sector at a technical symposium, blood donation exercise, clean up exercise on selected trunk roads, among others.
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The Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, who launched the 50th anniversary charged management and staff of the GHA to move away from the manual and mechanical way of doing things by instituting digital systems that would bring in its wake value for money and efficiency in the delivery of road infrastructure.
“As we launch the 50th anniversary celebrations, let us reaffirm our commitment to excellence in the development and maintenance of quality highways. “The Ghana Highway Authority’s legacy is not only in the infrastructure it has built but also in the lives it has improved and the nation it has helped to develop. Let us continue to pave the way for a prosperous Ghana where our highways symbolise our progress and our future development,” she said.
Merger
The Chief Executive of GHA, Collins B. Donkor, explained that merging the GHA, Department of Feeder Roads and Department of Urban Roads into a new National Roads Authority would help streamline operations and optimise national investments in road infrastructure.
Moving forward, he said the GHA would harness cutting-edge technologies, sustainable practices, and investing in human capital development with focus on innovation, safety and sustainability.
He added that the authority would also make use of effective stakeholder collaboration and partnerships with research institutions and law enforcement agencies to overcome challenges like funding constraints and unfavourable environmental conditions