A 15-member Board of Trustees of the Road Maintenance Trust Fund, chaired by Mr Isaac Adjei Mensah, a former Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, was yesterday inaugurated in Accra.
The members are Courage Kwabena Barlon, the Administrator; Samuel Kwasi Akuaku, Ministry of Roads and Highways; Mrs Leona Serwa Johnson-Abassah, Office of the Attorney General; Mr Richard Fedieley, Ministry of Transport, and Dr Grace Fidelia Annan, Ministry of Finance.
The rest are Ernest Henry Norgbey, Mamaga Semame III; Mrs Victoria Kumah-Mintah, Presidential nominee; Mr Amin Abdul-Rahaman, Local Government Ministry; Alidu Iddrisu Zakari, Civil Society; Stephen Kwaku Attatsi, Association of Road Contractors; Sawla Wura Iddrisu Abdulai Nugbaso; Rev. Allan Okomeng-Mensah, Ghana Institute of Surveyors and Mr Godwin Joseph Brocke of the Ghana Institution of Engineering.
The Minister of Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, charged the Board to support government’s efforts in improving the road network in the country.
According to him, their nomination to serve on the Board was anchored on Act 11474, 1 of the new Act made provision for the Governing Board of the Trust Fund, saying that, “you are going to be the Pioneer Governing Board members of this.”
The Minister explained that, in the past, the Road Fund was not a full-fledged statutory fund that accounted to the people, especially Parliament, adding that it only existed at the Ministry purely under the Minister and the Chief Director.
“So it could happen that in a year some parts of the country may never see any significant expenditure on road maintenance simply because it was so discretionary in the way it’s being used that is why, President Mahama decided that accountability must be up-scaled, so he ordered the Road Fund to be re-enacted as Road Maintenance Trust Fund with bigger mandates and hopefully bigger accruals to the fund,” the Minister explained.
He added that in the past, the Minister and the agencies spent whatever was accrued to the fund, but today, because of the new fund, Parliament would determine a portion of how the fund would be spent.
Mr Agbodza said currently certificates raised to be retired on the back of the fund were in excess of GH¢8 billion, and the actual accruals available for 2025 might be just above GH¢2.5 billion or around GH¢2 billion, “implying you cannot pay every contractor.”
He said part of the fund would be used to augment whatever allocation government made to the districts to improve the conditions of the roads nationwide.
Speaking on behalf of the members, Mr Mensah assured of working with “integrity, dedication and impartially” to remain accountable to the people.
BY LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AKPALU
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