Sixty two completed government infrastructure projects across Ghana remain unused, costing the state an estimated GHC52.9 million and prompting concerns from the Auditor-General.
The projects, executed between 2016 and 2024 in 23 districts across 13 regions, include school blocks, health facilities, market sheds, police stations, and sanitation projects all intended to ease congestion, improve security, boost commerce, and expand access to essential services.
According to the Auditor General’s 2024 report, the Ashanti Region tops the list with 12 idle projects, followed by the Upper East Region with 11.
Idle projects and reasons
The report cited a range of reasons for the non utilisation of these facilities. Some projects lack basic utilities such as electricity and water, while others are stalled by land disputes. In certain cases, authorities provided no explanation at all.
In the Bono Region, for instance, a District Police Headquarters built at Banda Ahenkro in 2021 remains unoccupied because the Ghana Police Service demanded that it be furnished and modified before use.
In the Awutu Senya District of the Central Region, market sheds at Bentum and Senya Bereku have stood idle since 2023 because they were built far from the main communities.
One of the most striking examples is in Jisonayili, Sagnarigu District, where two major market complexes have been abandoned. A two-storey facility with 40 lockable stores, completed in October 2023 at a cost of GHC9.54 million, remains empty without any explanation. Another two-storey structure comprising 72 lockable stores, a police post, a crèche, an abattoir, and stalls completed the same month at a cost of GHC8.63 million has also been left unused.
In the Upper East Region, four projects alone worth GHC22.5 million, or 42.5% of the total remain unutilised. These include retaining walls and filling works at a mechanic enclave in Bolgatanga, as well as mechanic sheds, a police station, and a public washroom completed in June 2021.
Smaller projects have also suffered the same fate. An NHIS office in Atiwa, Eastern Region, has not been connected to electricity. A police station at Gakli, Volta Region, completed in 2024 at a cost of GHC480,954.48, is idle for the same reason. In Bono East, a health centre and nurses’ quarters at Akumsa Domase remain closed because they have not been furnished. Similarly, a judicial bungalow built in Ajumako, Central Region, at a cost of GHC350,000 in 2021 is unused because it lacks a fence wall.
Other idle facilities include an abattoir in Nanton (Northern Region), a CHPS compound in Mankrong (Central Region), teachers’ quarters in Tetrem (Ashanti Region), and a CHPS compound with nurses’ accommodation in Kumbosgo (Upper East Region).
Auditor General’s position
The Auditor-General criticised the district assemblies for failing to operationalise the completed facilities, stressing that the delays deny communities access to essential services.
“The delay in putting the completed projects to use has deprived the beneficiary communities of the intended services and benefits, thereby undermining the purpose for which the projects were undertaken,” the report stated.
It recommended that assemblies take immediate steps to operationalise the projects so they can serve their intended purpose and deliver value to the communities.
