Roads and Highways Minister Governs Kwame Agbodza has called for greater accountability among engineers and technical officers responsible for supervising road projects, saying political leaders should not bear sole responsibility for delays and poor project delivery.

Mr. Agbodza said the performance of road projects depended not only on contractors but also on the quality of supervision provided by technical officers assigned to monitor construction works.

He made the remarks during an inspection of the 55-kilometre Bediako Junction–Camp 15–Sefwi Adabokrom road in the Bia East District, a major route linking the Ahafo and Western Regions.

The Minister expressed concern over what he described as weaknesses in the monitoring of road projects by some Regional Highways Directors and other technical personnel.

He said engineers supervising projects must take ownership of their responsibilities by closely monitoring contractors, identifying problems early and giving government accurate assessments of progress.

“I know that as an engineer you can only supervise work that is being done. It’s not your job to do the work,” Mr Agbodza said.

However, he stressed that technical officers were expected to know whether contractors were meeting agreed timelines and standards and to alert the Ministry whenever problems emerged.

According to the Minister, interventions by government officials had already resulted in some contractors significantly increasing the pace of work.

“Many of them have even doubled the pace of work they’ve done,” he said.

Mr Agbodza also questioned some of the activities observed at the Bediako Junction–Camp 15–Sefwi Adabokrom project, particularly the deployment of equipment before essential preparatory works had been completed.

“What is the use of a compactor here when you are yet to even cast the culvert?” he asked.

He further urged technical officers to move beyond routine site visits and actively monitor what contractors were doing on the ground.

“When they come, they don’t know what they are doing. They drive in their Land Cruisers and leave,” he said.

The Minister maintained that effective delivery of road projects required shared responsibility among contractors, engineers, technical officers and policymakers.

“Everybody must back up, including our engineers,” Mr Agbodza said.

“Politicians cannot continue to take blame for work that you are being paid to do. It doesn’t matter which political party is in power. We can’t continue taking blame for what others are paid to do.”

His comments signal a push for stronger professional accountability within the technical structures responsible for overseeing road construction and ensuring that projects are delivered according to approved standards and timelines.