The Ghana Highways Authority (GHA) will start the enforcement of its right of way to save the country from the payment of huge compensations during expansion of roads in the country, the Chief Executive Officer of the authority, Mr Christian Nti, has said.
According to him, the government spends millions of dollars in the payment of compensation due to the encroachment of its right of way by private developers and this must stop.
“We see people encroaching on our right of way, which is an envelope along the road corridor reserved and earmarked for future expansion and development.
Every road has at least 30 metres from the centre to the left and to the right reserved and this corridor is earmarked for future expansion,” he said.
Mr Nti issued the warning when he paid a courtesy call on the management of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) in Accra yesterday.
The visit formed part of a broader engagement with the media to get their support for the activities of the authority and also help in the education of the public on ways of protecting the country’s roads.
He explained that going forward, the GHA would engage the GBC and other media houses to educate the public on their individual and collective responsibilities so as to understand that the right of way was not free land for development.
Apart from enforcing the right of way, the authority would also move in to strictly enforce the axle-load and over-height vehicle compliance.
He said the non-compliance of axle-load and the height requirements impacted negatively on the road.
Mr Nti, therefore, appealed to the media to join it in the fight against these practices.
For his part, the Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Professor Amin Alhassan, appealed to the GHA to, as a matter of urgency, fix the two-kilometre access road leading to its Ajankotey Site in the Ga East District of the Greater Accra Region.
According to him, the deplorable nature of the road was impeding the smooth running of the site, which had huge national security implications.
Prof. Alhassan said the Ajankotey site was not only for the GBC but also an important installation for national security as well as the telecos and all other television stations.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
