The activation of PPP under the ‘’ big push agenda’’ in road sector will be excellent. By Godwin AYIKU The Government of Ghana is currently facing monumental challenges in infrastructure development and service delivery which constraint the growth of

Business and Financial Times

Thu 18th Dec, 2025 19:18

By Godwin AYIKU

The Government of Ghana is currently facing monumental challenges in infrastructure development and service delivery which constraint the growth of the Ghanaian economy especially in the road sector.

The provision of public infrastructure and services has typically been viewed as the responsibility of government.

Given limited budget resources, the country’s huge deficit in infrastructure cannot be met by the public sector alone through its budget allocations.

As stated by the objects of Public Private Partnership Act,2020(Act 1039) are to

• Regulate Public Private Partnership arrangements and
• Promote the use of private sector resources for the provision of infrastructure and services through Public Private Partnership

The Public Private Partnership(PPPs) is a contractual agreement between a public entity and a private party to provide public services or infrastructure.

The private party assumes some or all the risk and responsibility for the project over a set period, in exchange the private party receives financial compensation.

The good news is that, the current NDC government has initiated the ‘’Big Push Agenda’’ which budgetary allocation is over $10 billion for infrastructure development plan focusing on roads, bridges, rail, water, health and education to boost economic growth in Ghana.

It is of the view, that the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Ministry of Finance will consider the vigorous activation of Public Private Partnership policy guideline especially in the road construction sector in rural District of Ghana where these social amenities are lacking extensively and fast track this projects and arrangement to meet the expectations of Ghanaians.

Delivering the keynote address at the KPMG infrastructure Road Show in Accra, October 2025, Deputy Finance Minister Hon. Thomas Nyarko Ampem said and I quote’’ traditional financing models alone are no longer sufficient to meet the scale of Ghana’s infrastructure needs, making PPPs indispensable.

He stated that the public purse alone cannot do this, the fiscal space is tight, the demands are huge, the journey is long, PPPs are therefore not just desirable, they are indispensable, Hon. Thomas Nyarko Ampem stressed’’ this statement is refreshing and buttress my proposal.

The deplorable state of our road networks especially in the rural district of our country are very bad and not motorable. The bad nature of our road networks causes severe economic losses, increase road accidents, higher transportation costs, limited access to healthcare, education, food insecurity and vehicle damage and maintenance.

It is general knowledge that the deficit in the road infrastructure sector is very high because we have failed as a country to holistically activate this strategic programme to the benefit of the government.

The private partners in the road construction will recover their investment through mandatory Road Toll Financing and Road Fund Financing arrangement for a calculated period of years and does not matter the location of the road projects

Toll Booths will be strategically digitalized and mounted at beneficiary district across the country to raise funds for the repayment of road investment expenditures.

The urgent call for the activation of public private partnership interventions by this government will go a long way to drastically reduce road infrastructure deficit in Ghana by 2033 and the era where government of Ghana have to source for foreign and domestic loan facilities to construct road network in Ghana will be a thing of the past or minimized drastically.

It is the government responsibility to encourage the use of public private partnership as a means of leveraging public resources with private sector resources and expertise in order to close the infrastructure gap and deliver efficient public infrastructure and service.

Research shows that, many countries like Chile, Colombia, Mexico, France, South Africa, Kenya, Brazil etc. use the Public Private Partnership(PPP) arrangement in their road development management.

These countries use the public private partnership to share risks, leverage private capital, improve efficiency, and meet road infrastructure demands.

The World Bank report on public private partnership(PPPs) indicate that a number of countries have introduced toll roads to allow for cost recovery of capital investment or cost and maintenance in road infrastructure projects.

It is projected that the ‘’Big Push Agenda’’ couple with the activation of Public Private Partnership arrangement as being proposed will be excellent in terms of exceeding expected demands in the road sector as captured in the 2026 budget and beyond.

The ‘’Big Push Agenda’’ is a real game changer if it is leverage strategically on the Public Private Partnership(PPPs) deals, to drastically improve our road networks in our rural districts.

Godwin Ayiku is a Columnist and a Claims Officer, at National Health Insurance Authority

[email protected]

Contact: 0244540002,0209018992

The post The activation of PPP under the ‘’ big push agenda’’ in road sector will be excellent. By Godwin AYIKU The Government of Ghana is currently facing monumental challenges in infrastructure development and service delivery which constraint the growth of the Ghanaian economy especially in the road sector. The provision of public infrastructure and services has typically been viewed as the responsibility of government. Given limited budget resources, the country’s huge deficit in infrastructure cannot be met by the public sector alone through its budget allocations. As stated by the objects of Public Private Partnership Act,2020(Act 1039) are to (a) Regulate Public Private Partnership arrangements and (b) Promote the use of private sector resources for the provision of infrastructure and services through Public Private Partnership The Public Private Partnership(PPPs) is a contractual agreement between a public entity and a private party to provide public services or infrastructure. The private party assumes some or all the risk and responsibility for the project over a set period, in exchange the private party receives financial compensation. The good news is that, the current NDC government has initiated the ‘’Big Push Agenda’’ which budgetary allocation is over $10 billion for infrastructure development plan focusing on roads, bridges, rail, water, health and education to boost economic growth in Ghana. It is of the view, that the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Ministry of Finance will consider the vigorous activation of Public Private Partnership policy guideline especially in the road construction sector in rural District of Ghana where these social amenities are lacking extensively and fast track this projects and arrangement to meet the expectations of Ghanaians. Delivering the keynote address at the KPMG infrastructure Road Show in Accra, October 2025, Deputy Finance Minister Hon. Thomas Nyarko Ampem said and I quote’’ traditional financing models alone are no longer sufficient to meet the scale of Ghana’s infrastructure needs, making PPPs indispensable. He stated that the public purse alone cannot do this, the fiscal space is tight, the demands are huge, the journey is long, PPPs are therefore not just desirable, they are indispensable, Hon. Thomas Nyarko Ampem stressed’’ this statement is refreshing and buttress my proposal. The deplorable state of our road networks especially in the rural district of our country are very bad and not motorable. The bad nature of our road networks causes severe economic losses, increase road accidents, higher transportation costs, limited access to healthcare, education, food insecurity and vehicle damage and maintenance. It is general knowledge that the deficit in the road infrastructure sector is very high because we have failed as a country to holistically activate this strategic programme to the benefit of the government. The private partners in the road construction will recover their investment through mandatory Road Toll Financing and Road Fund Financing arrangement for a calculated period of years and does not matter the location of the road projects Toll Booths will be strategically digitalized and mounted at beneficiary district across the country to raise funds for the repayment of road investment expenditures. The urgent call for the activation of public private partnership interventions by this government will go a long way to drastically reduce road infrastructure deficit in Ghana by 2033 and the era where government of Ghana have to source for foreign and domestic loan facilities to construct road network in Ghana will be a thing of the past or minimized drastically. It is the government responsibility to encourage the use of public private partnership as a means of leveraging public resources with private sector resources and expertise in order to close the infrastructure gap and deliver efficient public infrastructure and service. Research shows that, many countries like Chile, Colombia, Mexico, France, South Africa, Kenya, Brazil etc. use the Public Private Partnership(PPP) arrangement in their road development management. These countries use the public private partnership to share risks, leverage private capital, improve efficiency, and meet road infrastructure demands. The World Bank report on public private partnership(PPPs) indicate that a number of countries have introduced toll roads to allow for cost recovery of capital investment or cost and maintenance in road infrastructure projects. It is projected that the ‘’Big Push Agenda’’ couple with the activation of Public Private Partnership arrangement as being proposed will be excellent in terms of exceeding expected demands in the road sector as captured in the 2026 budget and beyond. The ‘’Big Push Agenda’’ is a real game changer if it is leverage strategically on the Public Private Partnership(PPPs) deals, to drastically improve our road networks in our rural districts. Godwin Ayiku is a Columnist and a Claims Officer, at National Health Insurance Authority [email protected] Contact: 0244540002,0209018992 appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.