Kumasi, March 29, GNA - A one-day forum aimed at educating the general public on the role of the Ghana Road Fund in financing road maintenance was held in Kumasi on Wednesday.

Organised by the Ministry of Roads and Transport, the forum also discussed the introduction of toll-collection on a number of trunk roads in the country. Speaking at the forum, Mr Edward Salia, Minister of Roads and Transport, said in spite of the importance of road transport, most of them are misused, badly damaged and poorly maintained.

He said Ghana spent far too little on routine periodic maintenance of roads between 1960 and 1984, and this led t a considerable deterioration of most of them at that time.

Mr Salia said poor roads have negative effect on the economy of the country since goods service could not be sent to areas where they needed most. When a road is not maintained but is allowed to deteriorate, each dollar not used on road, increases vehicle operation cost by two or three dollars.

Hence cutting back on road maintenance does not save money but actually raises the net cost to the economy. Mr Salia said it is against this background that the government has adopted the policy of commercialisation, whereby road users are made to pay road tolls as a form of a user fee on the Kumasi-Dormaa-Ahenkro and Kumasi-Ejura roads ensure their regular maintenance.