The rising number of road fatalities in Ghana has become a major threat to the country’s transport sector transformation, with the government describing road safety as its biggest challenge.
Transport Minister Mr Joseph Bukari Nikpe said 2,954 people died in road traffic crashes in 2025, representing the highest number of fatalities recorded in more than two decades.
He said reported road crashes had also increased by 31.6 per cent between 2021 and 2025, describing the development as a national emergency requiring urgent and sustained action.
“Behind these figures are families, breadwinners and young lives. This is a national emergency, and we must treat it as one,” Mr Nikpe said.
The Minister was speaking at the opening of the 2026 Transport Sector Review Conference in Ho, held on the theme: “Financing and Delivery of Resilient Transport Infrastructure and Services: A BIG PUSH for Sustainable Economic Transformation.”
He said the country’s investments in roads and other transport infrastructure would have limited impact if preventable crashes continued to claim lives.
According to him, road safety must therefore remain at the centre of efforts to modernise the transport sector and improve mobility across the country.
Mr Nikpe stressed that the consequences of road crashes extended far beyond the immediate victims, as families often lost breadwinners and communities lost productive young people.
He called for a coordinated national response involving government institutions, transport operators, drivers, pedestrians and other road users to reverse the worsening trend.
The Minister said improving road safety required a collective and sustained commitment from all stakeholders rather than relying solely on government interventions.
He urged road users to play their part by observing safety regulations and adopting responsible behaviour to help reduce crashes and fatalities.
Mr Nikpe said creating safer roads was essential to ensuring that the broader benefits of resilient transport infrastructure translated into sustainable economic and social development.
