Sleep on the job, lose your extension - Agbodza to road contractors

Roads and Highways Minister Kwame Governs Agbodza has issued a stern warning to road contractors across Ghana, declaring that the government will no longer rubber-stamp extension requests from firms that deliberately stall or abandon project sites without justification.


Speaking to journalists on Monday, May 11, during a nationwide road inspection tour, Mr. Agbodza said the era of contractors suspending work for months and returning with extension requests was firmly over.

"It is a contract, and don't forget that there has to be a reason why you will be given an extension. When you take the job and sleep on it for six months, you cannot blame the delay on force majeure and then come and request an extension, even for a day," the minister said bluntly.

His warning signals a harder line from the Mahama administration on contractor accountability a message that carries particular weight given the government's ongoing push to complete a backlog of inherited road projects. The administration has already paid ¢12 billion out of a ¢40 billion liability owed to contractors for projects carried over from the previous government, and officials have made clear they expect results in return.

Mr. Agbodza was, however, careful to draw a line between negligence and genuine hardship. He acknowledged that unforeseen challenges beyond a contractor's control would still be considered under the relevant contractual provisions, provided the firm had demonstrated good faith and consistent effort on site.




"The Ministry and its agencies are reasonable people. If you think there is something wrong or it is beyond you, we can look at it. But if you sleep on it for an extended period and refuse to work, you cannot come and say you are lacking the time to do this work," he added.

Lending further weight to his position, the minister pointed out that several contractors are currently running ahead of schedule, proof, he argued, that timely delivery is achievable under existing conditions, and that delays are a matter of commitment rather than circumstance.

The warning forms part of a broader government drive to instil discipline and accountability across road infrastructure sector  a sector long dogged by cost overruns, expired contracts, and abandoned sites that have frustrated commuters and eroded public trust for years.