The public discussion surrounding the proposed Accra-Kumasi Expressway is creating the impression that the current administration has introduced a new financing model for Ghana’s expressway programme, one based on domestic funding rather than external borrowing.
That impression requires clarification.
The framework now being presented closely mirrors one introduced and applied during the second term of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo by the then Minister for Finance.
Under that earlier arrangement, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) was established under the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) to execute the Accra-Tema Motorway project.
This article is therefore not an argument against the Accra-Kumasi Expressway.
It is a call for an accurate public record and transparency on whether the current proposal is a continuation, duplication, or repackaging of a framework that already existed.
The public is entitled to know what has become of the original structure, why Accra-Tema Motorway Expressway Limited (ATEL) has not been used or properly acknowledged, and why the current administration is presenting the same basic financing concept as a new initiative.
During the second term of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) worked with the Ministry of Roads and Highways (MoRH) to establish this framework for financing highway infrastructure. It took considerable effort for the MoF to bring the MoRH to the table.
Under the framework, ATEL was established as an SPV under GIIF. A board was constituted, and a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Loius Harrison, was appointed. The relevant corporate records are available at the Registrar of Companies.
The MoRH awarded the motorway contract under this framework. The MoF also established a dedicated account at the Bank of Ghana (BoG), funded mainly through the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA), which is derived from Ghana’s petroleum revenue. No external borrowing was used to finance the project, not even domestic borrowing.
ATEL was expected to execute the first phase of the motorway project and subsequently offload it to domestic pension funds. It would then raise a new set of domestic funds to execute further expressway projects across the country.
The purpose of this model was to minimise political interference in expressway construction and encourage domestic pension funds to regard such infrastructure projects as credible, long-term investments.
The motorway was expected to be tolled, with Parliament preparing to pass a new law once the road was completed. These discussions were already taking place publicly.
ATEL still has a sitting CEO, Loius Harrison, and the motorway project is being executed under the framework established under the NPP.
However, following the change in government and the assumption of office by a new Minister for Finance under the NDC, progress on the motorway project began to slow.
Against this background, the Accra-Kumasi Expressway is now being presented under a similar structure. A new CEO has been appointed, and the military was asked to clear the right of way. However, no board for the project has been publicly identified.
ATEL could have executed the Accra-Kumasi Expressway, particularly after gaining experience from the motorway project.
The decision to establish another structure therefore raises questions about institutional continuity, public accountability and the proper use of existing arrangements.
More significantly, a toll has reportedly already been announced for the Accra-Kumasi Expressway without parliamentary approval. The toll is reportedly estimated at US$20, even though the contract has yet to be awarded.
The Minister for Finance and his team have also announced that dedicated funds have been placed at the BoG for the Accra-Kumasi Expressway, as if this were the first time such a financing arrangement had been developed.
They have stressed that the Accra-Kumasi Expressway is being financed without external borrowing, creating the impression that this is a new and novel initiative.
However, the same basic financing model had already been developed and applied under the original ATEL framework.
The central question is not whether Ghana should construct the Accra-Kumasi Expressway. Ghana needs better roads and reliable expressway infrastructure.
The real question is whether citizens are being given an accurate account of who developed the financing model, what has already been implemented, why the existing SPV is not being used, and why a substantially similar initiative is being presented as new.
This is the kind of leadership being provided to the country while some citizens applaud without examining the public record. National development requires honesty, yet the lies continue unabated. The truth will ultimately be established by the available records.
