Traffic Gridlock Threatens Growth as Transport Failures Bite – IMANI

Ghana’s economic growth is being quietly strangled by transport inefficiencies that drain productivity, inflate business costs and erode quality of life, according to a new analysis by the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education.

The policy think tank argues that while modern economies depend on the ability to move people and goods quickly and efficiently, Ghana’s transport system has slowed to a crawl, turning daily mobility challenges into a structural barrier to national development.

“From the steam engines of the British Industrial Revolution to the interstate highways of the United States, economic power has always followed the ability to move people and goods bulkier and faster,” IMANI stated.

In sharp contrast, the think tank said Ghana’s current transport reality, especially in Accra and Kumasi, reflects stagnation rather than progress. Commutes that should take minutes have become exhausting daily ordeals that sap time, energy and economic output.

Economists, IMANI noted, often assume that people allocate about an hour a day to commuting. This travel budget determines how far workers can live from jobs and how wide an economy can function. In Ghana, that balance has collapsed. A journey of less than 20 kilometres within Accra, such as Amasaman to Madina, can take more than ninety minutes, shrinking the effective size of the urban economy.

“When transport speed increases, economic geography contracts. In Ghana, the opposite is happening,” the report explained. Routes such as Nsawam to Accra, which should take under an hour, now regularly consume up to three hours, acting as an invisible tax on businesses and households.

IMANI said many workers now leave home as early as 3:30am to escape gridlock. “By 6:00am, major arteries into Accra are already swollen with traffic and no functional mass transit system. This early-morning exodus is a desperate attempt to beat a traffic monster that devours nearly 20 percent of a worker’s waking life,” he noted.

The daily stress, IMANI warned, has serious public health implications. National mortality data show hypertension, heart failure and stroke among leading causes of death, conditions worsened by prolonged stress, pollution and physical fatigue.

Beyond commuting, the logistics sector is under strain, as incomplete roads and a collapsed rail system force most freight onto costly road transport nationwide today.