Okatakyie Afrifa Accuses Mahama Administration of Economic Sabotage Over Kumasi Expressway Bypass

A fierce political and economic debate has erupted over the proposed alignment of the Accra–Kumasi Expressway, with vocal media commentator Okatakyie Afrifa-Mensah leading a heavy wave of criticism against President John Dramani Mahama’s administration. According to Afrifa-Mensah, the strategic re-routing of the major transit corridor away from the central business districts of Kumasi represents a calculated attempt to dismantle the economic backbone of the Ashanti Region. Critics argue that bypassing Kumasi’s core commercial hubs risks suffocating local businesses, reducing transit trade, and diminishing the region's historic role as the premier economic engine of middle and northern Ghana.

​Central to this controversy is the fear of long-term economic displacement for thousands of traders, transporters, and local entrepreneurs who rely on high-volume transit traffic through the heart of the city. By diverting major vehicular flows onto peripheral expressways, opponents contend that the government is effectively severing vital commercial arteries that feed local markets and hospitality sectors. Afrifa-Mensah’s sharp rhetoric has amplified growing anxieties among regional stakeholders who view infrastructure investments not just through the lens of engineering efficiency, but as politically loaded tools that can either elevate or marginalize local economies.

​On the other hand, proponents of the expressway layout maintain that bypassing congested urban centers is a standard infrastructural necessity aimed at improving transit times, reducing inner-city traffic bottlenecks, and lowering haulage costs across the country. They argue that modernized bypass routes are designed to complement, rather than undermine, regional development by linking central trading centers to wider arterial networks while mitigating city-wide gridlock. Nevertheless, as the political rhetoric intensifies, the Mahama administration faces mounting pressure to provide clear economic impact assessments and reassure the business community in the Ashanti Region that modern transportation planning will not come at the expense of their commercial livelihood.

@Volta Today