The President of the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry, Emmanuel Cherry, has described the government’s planned release of GH¢1 billion to road contractors as grossly inadequate, warning that it will do little to ease the financial distress facing the sector.
His comments follow a directive by President John Dramani Mahama to the Ministry of Finance to release GH¢1 billion to contractors owed by the state since 2017, with payment expected to be made before Christmas.
President Mahama announced the directive during a sod-cutting ceremony for the Sunyani–Atronie–Acherensua Road Project in the Bono Region on Sunday, December 21, 2025, under the government’s Big Push infrastructure programme.
Speaking on the Channel One Newsroom later the same day, Mr Cherry acknowledged the President’s intervention but stressed that the amount earmarked for payment represents only a fraction of what contractors are owed.
“As the President ordered, he made it known that the Minister for Finance should look for GH¢1 billion to pay us. That amount is out of the GH¢8.2 billion owed under the Road Fund alone,” he said.
According to him, the proposed payment falls far short of expectations and raises questions about how the funds would be distributed among contractors.
“Even though it is money, it is woefully inadequate. It is not even a quarter, let alone three-quarters, of what is owed. If it happens this way, the question is who is to be paid and who is not going to be paid,” he noted.
Mr Cherry added that if the payment is shared across all contractors with validated certificates, the percentage each contractor would receive would be minimal.
“Sincerely, GH¢1 billion will not fly. It will not get anywhere. The Christmas the President is talking about that we are going to celebrate, I don’t know how we are going to do that,” he said.
He explained that road contractors alone are owed about GH¢8.2 billion, making the GH¢1 billion release “a drop in the ocean,” though he conceded that some relief is better than none.
“It is a drop in the ocean, but half a loaf, they say, is better than one,” he added.
Mahama orders GH¢1bn payment to contractors owed since 2017