'Interchanges won't solve poor planning' - Michael Kosi Dedey

Engineer and analyst Michael Kosi Dedey has said Ghana’s recurring transport and congestion challenges are caused by poor spatial planning rather than a lack of infrastructure.

Speaking in an interview on Channel One TV on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, Dedey argued that the country would continue to spend huge sums on transport infrastructure unless proper planning was prioritised.

According to him, every aspect of national development is interconnected, making spatial planning essential for sustainable growth.

“We as a country need to understand that everything is connected. If we don't plan the country properly in terms of spatial planning, nothing is going to work,” he said.

Dedey maintained that many of the interchanges being constructed across the country could have been avoided if towns and cities had been properly planned from the outset.

“If we had planned our towns and cities properly, most of the interchanges we are putting on our highways would not be required. They are more like an afterthought,” he stated.

He explained that proper city planning helps determine where people should live and prevents the need for costly engineering projects to address congestion created by unplanned development.

“If you plan a city properly, you don't go for expensive engineering solutions to overcome bottlenecks that we have created by ourselves through chaos,” he said.

Dedey also expressed concern about developments springing up close to newly constructed bypasses, warning that such practices would eventually create fresh congestion problems.

“Go and look at the bypass we put up around Nkawkaw. People are building right next to those bypasses. In a few years, we will say we need another interchange,” he noted.

He described the trend as evidence of weak planning and a lack of long-term thinking.

“That is the lack of thinking and planning that is worrying us as a country. We keep setting ourselves back all the time,” he remarked.

Dedey further stressed that Ghana’s transport challenges could not be resolved through directives or negotiations alone without proper spatial planning.

“Without proper spatial planning, we will keep compounding our own problems and think that by simply giving a ministerial directive or negotiating with transport operators, we can resolve the problem,” he concluded.

ANAS/MA

Ghana's recovery due to superior economic management - Ato Forson