The Ministry of Roads and Highways has disclosed that it has formally requested approval to recruit about 1,000 additional staff to address critical manpower shortages affecting road infrastructure delivery across the country.
Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, told Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee during a public hearing in Accra that the request was initiated by the Ministry’s Chief Director in response to mounting operational pressures.
He explained that the creation of six new administrative regions had not been matched with a corresponding expansion of staff strength within key road sector agencies, leaving engineers and technical officers overstretched.
“Mr Chairman, the creation of six new regions without a corresponding increase in staffing for road agencies has left key technical departments overstretched,” he said.
Mr Agbodza, who is also the Member of Parliament for Adaklu, noted that the shortage of personnel was particularly severe in newly created regions, where institutional capacity remains limited.
He warned that the inadequate staffing levels were affecting supervision, quality assurance, and timely delivery of road projects nationwide.
“If you consider the fact that we are investing heavily on these projects, part of the reason some of the projects suffer quality assurance is simply because we don’t have enough people to monitor these projects,” he stated.
The Minister revealed that while government had previously approved the recruitment of 137 technical staff for the Ghana Highways Authority—including engineers and quantity surveyors—this allocation was limited in scope and insufficient to meet nationwide demands.
According to him, the Chief Director has since submitted a broader request covering approximately 1,000 personnel to support all road agencies affected by the staffing gaps.
“We have got approval for 137 staff at various level, QSEs, engineers and everything, but that was just for highways,” he said, adding that the new request seeks to address shortages across the entire sector.
Mr Agbodza assured Parliament that steps were being taken to strengthen institutional capacity within the Ministry and its agencies to improve monitoring and enhance the quality of road infrastructure projects.
He stressed that addressing the staffing shortfall is essential for ensuring effective supervision, improving accountability, and delivering durable road networks across the country.
The recruitment proposal is currently under review by the relevant government authorities.
