By Edward Dankwah, GNA
Accra, May 11, GNA-The Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCC) has commenced consultations with the Ministry of Roads and Highways to improve coordination and operational efficiency of devolved road sector responsibilities within Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) nationwide.
This engagement is anchored in Ghana’s broader decentralisation framework and is intended to deepen the operationalisation of devolved departments at the local level.
The consultation seeks to clarify functional assignments, streamline institutional arrangements, and reinforce coherence between central sector agencies and local government structures, consistent with the legal and policy architecture governing decentralisation reforms in Ghana.
A statement issued in Accra by the Committee said the initiative represented a deliberate policy effort to enhance downward accountability, promote subsidiarity, and improve the responsiveness of road infrastructure planning, implementation, and maintenance to local development priorities.
It said, it aimed to ensure that road sector management at the sub-national level is systematically embedded within the broader local governance system, thereby strengthening service delivery outcomes and territorial development outcomes.
This included how selected road functions could be devolved to the assemblies based on agreed road classifications while ensuring they have the capacity and resources to manage and maintain their road infrastructure effectively.
Dr. Gameli Kewuribe Hoedoafia, the Executive Secretary of the IMCC, described the road sector as central to the success of Ghana’s decentralisation agenda.
He said the country had struggled with some of the structural issues in local governance for years, noting that recent reforms were intended to correct long-standing institutional gaps.
He said to better serve the people, the National Decentralisation Policy 2026-2030 had proposed that every district should have a roads department.
“This is a deviation from the nomenclature of having feeder roads and an urban roads department and every Ghanaian lives within a local government area, so, there is value in allowing the levels where the issues impact the people the most to be able to deal with them,” he said.
He said local authorities are better placed to respond because they have direct knowledge of community needs, information that national-level actors may not always have.
Dr. Hoedoafia added that while the Ministry would continue to handle policy formulation, monitoring and evaluation, implementation should not be overly centralised.
He said the President remained a champion of decentralisation as it ensures equitable development and ownership of local priorities for efficient service delivery.
He said he did not understand why some people remained at the centre and took decisions that impacted the lives of the people at the local level.
Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza, the Minister for Roads and Highways, welcomed the engagement and described the conversation as long overdue.
He noted that although urban roads were placed under local government years ago, there had been no thorough evaluation to determine how effective the arrangement has been.
He said many of the functions that should have been handled locally are still being carried out at the national level.
The Minister said road agencies lacked the full technical complement needed to fully execute their mandates, including design work.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei