ASHANTI REGION BETRAYAL: NDC’S CLEAR DISREGARD FOR DEVELOPMENT (SUAME INTERCHANGE DEMOLISHED FROM 4-TIER TO 2-TIER, A DIRECT ASSAULT ON PROGRESS)
In October 2022, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut the sod for a 4-tier Suame Interchange, a transformative infrastructure project designed to eliminate gridlock and modernise Kumasi traffic flow. This was not a minor upgrade but a comprehensive six-in-one interchange with five overpasses, a milestone for the Ashanti Region’s transport network and businesses.
Today, however, this vision is crumbling before our eyes because the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has shown a clear pattern of neglect and a downgrade in delivering what was promised to the people of Ashanti. The project that was intended to be a flagship, strategic infrastructure investment has been downgraded to a mere 2-tier interchange, raising serious questions about the NDC’s commitment to the region’s development.
This is not politics by accident this appears to be politics by deliberate design. The Ashanti Caucus of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has forcefully condemned this decision, calling it unjustified, technically unsound, and fundamentally unfair to Kumasi and the wider Ashanti Region. They explained that the original four-tier design was based on extensive traffic modelling, long-term planning, and projected traffic growth not arbitrary thinking.
Why is this critical? Because a two-tier interchange cannot eliminate traffic conflict points and fails to accommodate future traffic growth, meaning congestion will persist and possibly worsen, negating years of planning. Traffic engineers around the world understand that under-designing urban infrastructure is worse than not building at all. It locks cities into congestion and economic loss for decades.
The reduction in design has also sparked intense criticism. The former Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon. Francis Asenso-Boakye, warned that scaling down at this stage after detailed designs and foundations were completed would likely lead to delays, cost overruns, and contractual complications.
The NDC’s justification high compensation costs and urban disruption does not erase the reality that this downgrade signals a deprioritisation of Ashanti’s long-term development. Meanwhile, billions continue to be spent on other projects around the country, including in areas where political considerations may be more favourable to the party’s interests.
What should have been an icon of progress for Ashanti, a four-tier interchange that would reshape urban mobility is now a symbol of political neglect under the NDC. The people of Ashanti deserve more than half-measures. They deserve the full promise delivered. The New Patriotic Party remains committed to real development, not downgraded dreams.
Ashanti will not settle for less. The region deserves the vision it was promised.
By: Blessing Mantey
