The Minister of Roads and Highways-designate, Kwame Governs Agbodza, has noted that the electronic gates launched by the former Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, at the Kotoka International Airport should not have come at an extra cost to the government.

He explained that the total cost of the gates could have been $1.7 million instead of the $240 million quoted by the former government.

“Indeed, the few physical E-Gates that were planted could cost GH¢1.7 million but if Ghana had listened to what I was saying, it wouldn’t have resulted in some of the embarrassment we saw at the airport when the former vice president was trying to commission it. If I were to tell you that there was even no contract for the E-Gates, there is no contract. And they didn’t know,” he said during his vetting on January 20, 2025 at Parliament.

Agbodza reiterated that the government should not have paid a dime for its construction since this fell under the jurisdiction of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority.

“The E-Gate was supposed to be done for free. Why are we even supposed to pay even $1 for something that we were supposed to get for free? So, when they started backtracking, they did this memo: Contract value: $147, $765, $627 million. Contract duration: 10 years, support and management fee; 10% support and maintenance fee; 18%. I repeat, Ghana not ought not to pay even $1 for the so-called E-Gate project.

“Immigration, you have confirmed my allegation that you have forgotten that the implementation of this lies in the domain of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, you have no business carrying this and this is a UN Security Council resolution. it lies with Ghana Airports Company Limited,” he concluded.

The former Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, commissioned the E-Gates at the Kotoka International Airport a few days to the 2024 general elections.

Controversies surrounding the project highlighted the cost of the gates as a rip-off to the taxpayer.

SSD/AE

Watch Agbodza's explanation below: