The Ministry of Roads and Highways on Tuesday, introduced an app and call center aimed at facilitating the reporting of road defects by Ghanaians.
Known as the “Maintain My Road,” the initiative forms part of the ministry’s Enhanced Maintenance Programme and allows the citizenry to submit pictures and reports on road defects for efficient and timely resolution, a statement said.
“It focuses on routine maintenance activities, such as pothole patching, grading, and repair of traffic signals. It also allocates 60% of the road maintenance budget from the Ghana Road Fund to address maintenance issues on the road network.”
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During the launch in Accra, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Francis Asenso-Boakye said this new system is important in reducing the costs associated with road reconstruction in light of budgetary constraints facing the Road Fund.
“I just want to assure the people that the Accra Kumasi highway will see major maintenance activities that will improve drastically the conditions of the road, as well as the Accra-Tema Motorway,” he said.
The “Maintain MY Road” initiative will be piloted over the next five months on the main trunk roads and four main cities namely, Accra-Tema, Kumasi, Takoradi, and Tamale.
The timing for the launch of the initiative seems quite interesting as the general elections approach. Two surveys by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) before the 2016 general elections found that bad roads are among the top three likely factors that influence people’s vote.
