Road Construction Blamed for 49% of Ghana’s Fibre Cuts – Sam George

The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Sam Nartey George, has disclosed that road construction under the government’s Big Push programme accounts for nearly half of all fibre cuts recorded in Ghana, making it the leading cause of damage to the country’s telecommunications infrastructure.

Speaking at the Accountability Series on Monday, September 7, 2026, the Minister revealed that Ghana had recorded 8,578 fibre cuts so far in 2026, with repairs costing telecommunications operators more than US$20 million.

According to Sam George, the frequent damage to fibre infrastructure is disrupting telecommunications services while forcing network operators to spend millions of dollars on repairs instead of investing those resources in expanding network coverage.

“That’s money that without the fibre cut we could have used to build new sites… The biggest source of fibre cuts is from the Big Push project because the Ministry of Roads is carrying out an aggressive project to construct roads across the country,” he said.

The Minister explained that road construction projects account for approximately 49% of all fibre cuts recorded across the country.

He said the extensive road works being undertaken under the government’s Big Push programme have increased the risk of telecommunications cables being damaged during construction activities.

The resulting disruptions not only affect mobile and internet services but also create an additional financial burden for telecommunications companies, which must repeatedly repair damaged fibre networks.

Sam George said fibre cuts have remained a major challenge to Ghana’s telecommunications sector over the past several years.

Ghana recorded approximately:

3,900 fibre cuts in 2021

More than 10,000 in 2022

Over 6,000 in 2023

More than 5,600 in 2024

About 8,000 in 2025

By the end of June 2026, the country had already recorded nearly 4,300 fibre cuts.

The Minister said that if the current trend continued, Ghana could record close to 9,000 fibre-cut incidents by the end of 2026.

Sam George stressed that the financial implications go beyond the immediate cost of repairing damaged cables.

He explained that money spent by telecommunications companies on restoring fibre infrastructure could otherwise be used to construct new telecommunications sites and improve network coverage, particularly in underserved areas.

The repeated cuts therefore make it more difficult for operators to direct sufficient resources towards expanding and strengthening Ghana’s digital infrastructure.

Despite the challenges, the Minister said government remained committed to expanding telecommunications infrastructure and improving connectivity across the country.

He disclosed that the government had significantly increased its target for new telecommunications sites, moving from 50 sites in 2025 to 800 sites in 2026.

Sam George maintained that protecting existing fibre infrastructure would be essential to achieving the country’s telecommunications expansion goals.

He stressed that reducing fibre damage would help ensure that funds allocated for expanding telecommunications infrastructure are not continually diverted towards costly repairs.