By Korkor Juliet
A stakeholders’ forum on the proposal for the establishment of the Ghana National Roads Authority, GNRA Bill has been held in Koforidua the Eastern Regional capital, to deliberate on the draft bill for the Ghana National Roads Authority which shall be submitted to Cabinet and Parliament for consideration and approval.
The bill when passed into law, will help bring together the three existing road agencies which include the Ghana Highways Authority, the Department of Urban Roads and the Department of Feeder Roads as a unified authority for planning, developing, maintaining and managing the national road network and other related matters in the country.
Addressing stakeholders at the meeting, the Roads and Highways Minister, Amoako Attah pointed out that the integration of the road agencies will help to streamline operations, enhance coordination and maximize the impact of investment in the road sector to serve the needs of Urban and rural areas.
He mentioned that the Trunk Road System, Arterial Roads System, Collector Road System, District and Inter District will be managed under the jurisdiction of the Ghana National Roads Authority while the local roads will be under the management of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Kwame Acheampong observed that the ongoing reforms under the Roads and Highways Ministry will aid in leveraging the competencies of the various agencies and create the necessary synergies for the improvement of the ministry’s operations.
He is therefore hopeful that the meeting will improve their business operations and reflect on the condition of the roads in the various communities across the country. Mr. Acheampong, however, stressed the need for the ministry to critically address some challenges confronting the region with regard to its road network.
In a Presentation of the Draft Bill of the GNRA, the Director of Procurement for the Roads and Highways Ministry, Yaw Tweneboa- Kodua noted that the organogram for the integration will comprise the Director General of GNRA, Deputy Director General Highways, Deputy Director General Urban Roads, Deputy Director General Services and Deputy Director General Planning, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation.
He added that the roads department of the assemblies under the GNRA shall remain decentralized and their human resources will be under the Local Government Service.
