She said major roads in the Volta region for instance served as the arteries connecting communities and people through the transportation of goods and persons which contributed to the region's socio-economic development.

Madam Oppong-Yeboah who said this at the launch of the golden jubilee anniversary celebration of the Ghana Highway Authority in the Volta region, stressed that the economic and social benefits of road development could not be over- emphasised.

"The development, maintenance, control and administration of trunk roads within the country have been the core mandate of the Ghana Highway Authority since was established under the NRCD 298 of November 1974, and later superseded by Act 540 of December 1997, to reflect changes that occurred in the road sector".

The Anniversary was being held on the theme: "Providing Safe and Reliable trunk Road Network for Socio-Economic Development".

Madam Oppong-Yeboah said for half a century now, the Authority had been providing safe and reliable trunk roads spanning over 15,000km length of roads across the country, out of which the Volta region could boast of over 900 km of trunk road network, which had been transformed from poor states to motorable and reliable roads.

She said some roads upgraded into first-class roads in the region included the Ho- Fume, Ho-Adidome, and Sogakope- Aflao roads, and the Asikuma-Have-Hohoe Road, which was still under construction.

Madam Oppong-Yeboah said despite the achievements so far, the Authority believed there was more work to be done on the region's trunk road network and efforts were underway to continually improve it.

She said the Ministry of Roads and Highways had launched a maintenance App by which anybody could call in and report any issues on the road and their concerns would be attended to within the shortest possible time.

Madam Oppong-Yeboah said the Authority was concerned that some sections of the road's assets were being misused and vandalised, and appealed to the public, including security agencies, to be vigilant and discourage persons whose actions destroyed national assets and compromised road safety.

"Building structures on the road reservations must also be discouraged as it also comes at a great cost to future road projects. The Ghana Highway Authority is committed to making all trunk roads safe and reliable for all road users," she said.

She said the Authority had strived to achieve its successes through the relentless efforts of both past and present staff and congratulated them for their hard work.

Madam Oppong-Yeboah said the Authority had also come thus far due to the collaborative support from agencies including the Departments of Feeder Roads, and the Urban Roads respectively.She commended the contributions from stakeholders which helped fine-tune the Authority's work to benefit all road users.