The Deputy Minister of Roads and Transport, Anthony Karbo, has revealed that the previous administration secured over GHC 1.5 billion loan from UBA to pay road contractors.
According to Mr. Karbo, the previous administration’s decision to secure this loan, has led to releases to the Road Fund being hijacked by UBA.
[contextly_sidebar id=”RIySeITqTt8sdkEY9883Yomf2ZnKbbqO”]“Last year [2016], the fund committed itself to a UBA loan of over 1.5 billion to pay contractors. As we speak, the loan is kicked in and releases to the Road Fund has been hijacked by the bank …”
Responding to complaints about poor roads and the new government’s inability to begin work on these roads, Mr. Karbo said: “our hands are tied. We are in a difficult situation. My Ministers have had sleepless nights about the state of road.”
Mr. Karbo made this revelation while offering explanations on some stalled road projects, including the Tema Motorway.
We’ve no money to fix Accra-Tema motorway
The Deputy Minister attributed government’s inability to fix these roads to lack of funds.
There have been several calls on government to complete the interchange and fix other portions of the Tema Motorway which many motorists say is in a deplorable state.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr. Karbo said the Road Fund, which was specifically set up to finance road projects across the country, is cash-strapped to finance these projects.
“As we speak, the loan is kicked in and releases to the road fund have been hijacked ..Our hands are tied. We are in a very difficult situation. My Ministers have had sleepless nights and we all use the road on a daily basis” he lamented.
As part of measures to address these challenges, Mr. Karbo said government is currently seeking a strategic investor to fund various road projects.
“We are working tirelessly to ensure that beyond the limited resources available to government and Ministry to do these roads, we get a concessionaire or get a strategic investor. Indeed, many have come before the Ministry and expressed interest in working with us to ensure that at least the current tolls can be used. ”
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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah