A member of the Public Accountability Committee of the Ghana Institute of Engineers, Ing. Dr Charles Kwarteng Asafo-Adjei, has warned that Ghana’s deteriorating road safety conditions are approaching a critical level.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, August 27, Dr Asafo-Adjei said the Institute’s latest infrastructure scorecard rated road safety E2, placing it close to the lowest performance category.
“Road safety was graded E2. It means we are at the next stage where, virtually, our roads may be declared unsafe for human use,” he said.
He explained that the assessment covered eight infrastructure sectors and was based mainly on data from 2017 to 2024, with provisional figures for 2025.
According to him, the situation is particularly concerning because road transport accounts for about 90 per cent of passenger and freight movement in Ghana.
“Our mode of transport in Ghana is basically road, and anything that affects roads and bridges affects road users,” he said.
Dr Asafo-Adjei noted that poorly maintained roads contribute to congestion, delays, increased fuel consumption and road crashes, creating additional costs for households, businesses and the healthcare system.
He cautioned that simply expanding the road network would not address the challenge because vehicle ownership and transport demand are increasing faster than infrastructure capacity.
“We may be expanding the infrastructure, but the rate at which vehicles are growing means that demand is growing faster than supply,” he said.
He called for stronger enforcement of road safety regulations, sustained public education and regular maintenance of roads, alongside measures to better manage the movement of vehicles and motorcycles.
Dr Asafo-Adjei urged policymakers to treat road safety as a national emergency, stressing that the priority must be the protection of lives rather than infrastructure expansion alone.
