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.<\/p>\n
According to Mr. Karbo, the previous administration\u2019s decision to secure this loan, has led to releases to the Road Fund being hijacked by UBA.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”RIySeITqTt8sdkEY9883Yomf2ZnKbbqO”]\u201cLast 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 …\u201d<\/p>\n
Responding to complaints about poor roads and the new government’s inability to begin work on these roads, Mr. Karbo said: \u201cour hands are tied. We are in a difficult situation. My Ministers have had sleepless nights about the state of road.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Karbo made this revelation while offering explanations on some stalled road projects, including the Tema Motorway.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve no money to fix Accra-Tema motorway<\/strong><\/p>\n The Deputy Minister attributed government\u2019s inability to fix these roads to lack of funds.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show<\/strong>, 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAs 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\u201d he lamented.<\/p>\n As part of measures to address these challenges, Mr. Karbo said government is currently seeking a strategic investor to fund various road projects.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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. \u201d<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Marian Ansah\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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