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Figure 10. Transportation System, 1994

Ghana's transportation and communications networks are centered in the southern regions, especially the areas in which gold, cocoa, and timber are produced. The northern and central areas are connected through a major road system some areas, however, remain relatively isolated.

The deterioration of the country's transportation and communications networks has been blamed for impeding the distribution of economic inputs and food as well as the transport of crucial exports. Consequently, the first priority of the ERP was to repair physical infrastructure. Under the program's first phase (1983-86), the government allocated US$1.5 billion, or 36 percent of total investment, for that purpose and an additional US$222 million in 1987 for road and rail rehabilitation. In 1991 the Ghanaian government allocated 27 percent of its budget for various road schemes.

Foreign donor support helped to increase the number of new vehicle registrations from 8,000 in 1984 to almost 20,000 in 1989. The distribution of vehicles was skewed, however, because, by 1988, more than half of all vehicles were in Accra, which contained approximately 7 percent of the country's population. Furthermore, most new vehicles are intended for private use rather than for hauling goods and people, a reflection of income disparities. Transportation is especially difficult in eastern regions, near the coast, and in the vast, underdeveloped northern regions, where vehicles are scarce. At any one time, moreover, a large percentage of intercity buses and Accra city buses are out of service.

Data as of November 1994