Ghana has the expertise for BRT, what’s missing is political will – CSIR

Deputy Director of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Prof William Ackaah, has said that Ghana has enough technical studies and expertise to develop an efficient Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in its major cities, but what is lacking is the political will to implement the plans.

He said successive governments had commissioned and relied on several transportation master plans for Accra and Kumasi, with some dating back more than two decades, but the country had yet to fully implement the recommendations.

Speaking on the Joy FM Super Morning Show on Friday, August 28, as part of the station’s Sustainability Month programme on Ghana’s trotro revolution and the case for BRT, Prof Ackaah identified political commitment as the major missing factor in turning those plans into reality.

“What is missing now is the political will to implement this master plan. That is what is missing. We have all the technical know-how,” he said.

Prof Ackaah therefore rejected the idea that Ghana needed to undertake more feasibility studies simply to determine whether BRT was necessary.

“I don’t believe in us doing other feasibility studies or some further studies to establish that we need a BRT system,” he said.

Instead, he said, political leaders must be prepared to commit public funds to the infrastructure required for a proper BRT system.

“You need a political person who will be committed, ready to invest money into this infrastructure,” he said.

According to Prof Ackaah, the existence of several master plans shows that Ghana already knows what needs to be done to improve urban transport.

“You realise that the master plan which we’ve had means it’s not a technical problem. We have all the technical solutions. The master plan is a technical document,” he said.

Prof Ackaah said the investment required to build a proper BRT system could not be achieved without strong political leadership.

“You need a political person who will take that bold decision, put in the investments to build this. Else we will lose it,” he warned.

He also expressed concern about the consequences of continued delays, particularly as Accra and other urban centres expand and vehicle ownership rises.

“You see, the way the city is developing, if we don’t do anything, we’re going to get to a point where the city will get to, nobody will move,” he said.

He said Ghana could not continue relying on vehicles with low passenger capacity to meet the transport needs of rapidly growing cities.

“We cannot use these low-occupancy vehicles in applying our route,” he said.

For Prof Ackaah, the issue is therefore no longer about determining whether BRT is technically feasible.

“For me, we have all the technical know-how. What we need to do now is a political leadership decision to implement all the studies,” he said.

Prof Ackaah said the responsibility for delivering an efficient public transport system should not rest on one institution alone.

He identified the Ministry of Transport as a key player but said the Ministry of Roads and Highways, the local government authorities and district assemblies would also have important roles.

He said coordination between the various institutions would be necessary to ensure that the system was properly planned, funded and implemented.

“It is the responsibility of governments to provide an efficient, safe, affordable public transport system,” he said.

He also criticised the practice of restarting major transport projects whenever there is a change of government.

“What is happening now is that a government starts a project, a different government comes, and then the whole feasibility study and whatever starts again,” he said.

He said that this approach wastes time and resources while delaying solutions to a problem that continues to worsen.

“So here you need a coordination of the different ministries responsible to make sure that we build this system to benefit all of us,” he said.