parliament has approved govern­ment's proposal to channel all royalties from oil revenues and mineral resourc­es to support the implementation of the Big Push Programme.This follows the government's request to Parliament to give approval for the funds to be used in the construction of certain important road projects.According to the Joint Commit­tee on Budget and Finance report, "The Committee had carefully considered the referral and it is of the opinion that the request is in the right direction."The Committee also noted that Parliament had already approved the policy and the allocation to the "Big Push" Programme in the 2025 Budget Statement.

Grant­ing the request would enable the Government to enter into multi-year contracts to execute the road infrastructure projects under the programme.The Committee accordingly recommends to the House to approve the Request for the multi-year commitments for the selected road projects under the "Big Push" Programme contained in the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review of the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Govern­ment of Ghana, in accordance with Section 33 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016, (Act 921)," it said.The initiative aimed at improv­ing road infrastructure across the country and is estimated at, GH¢13.8 billion.It is expected to be completed by 2028 with support from the country's financial resources.According to the 2025 budget, GH¢5.75 billion was owed by the Road Fund, with an allocation of GH¢2.81 billion programmed for road maintenance.This represented a 155.5 per cent increase from the 2024 alloca­tion of GH¢1.1 billion, underscor­ing the government's emphasis on sustaining Ghana's road network.With Ghana's economy valued at GH¢1.2 trillion, stakeholders are closely monitoring how the government will balance infra­structure expansion with financial obligations.Earlier this year, the Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, revealed that the government would settle GH¢4 billion out of the large debt owed to road contractors.He said currently, the govern­ment owed road contractors about GH¢21 billion, and indicated that President John Dramani Maha­ma had already announced the government's plan to begin paying debts owed to road contractors within this month.He made these revelations during a meeting with members of the Council of State at the Presi­dency on Monday, July 7."The Ministry of Finance has made dedicated financial alloca­tions to address a substantial por­tion of the outstanding debts.

We expect this to bring much-needed relief to the contractors and help accelerate the delivery of critical infrastructure," the President stated.BY LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AKPALU