Mahama appoints Gabriel Opoku-Asare chair of Board of Trustees for Road Maintenance Trust Fund

President John Dramani Mahama has appointed Mr Gabriel Opoku-Asare, a seasoned global corporate executive and Presidential Staffer, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Road Maintenance Trust Fund (RMTF).

The Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon. Kwame Governs Agbodza, inaugurated Mr Opoku-Asare and the new Board of Trustees at a ceremony at the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Accra, on Monday, 9 November 2026. He succeeds Hon. Isaac Adjei Mensah, Member of Parliament for Wassa East.

Mr Opoku-Asare is a global executive in public policy, international trade and corporate affairs, with more than 20 years of executive leadership experience across Africa, Europe, Asia and North America.

He currently serves as a Presidential Staffer and Chief Export Development Officer at the Office of the President (24-Hour Economy), leading Ghana's export transformation agenda, including market access under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He is also an Advisory Member of the Presidential Committee on Accelerated Export Development (PCAED), chaired by the President, and a Non-Executive Director of Airtel Ghana Limited (AT Ghana).

Before joining government, he held executive roles with Diageo across three continents. As Head of Society for Africa, he led sustainability strategy across 13 priority markets in four business units, engaging bodies such as the African Union, UNDP and UNITAR.

As Executive Director, Corporate Affairs for Diageo Southeast Asia, based in Singapore, he led teams across Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, becoming the first African corporate affairs leader to serve at executive level for Diageo in another region.

As Director, ESG for Diageo North America, based in Washington, D.C., he championed circular-economy initiatives, including glass recycling in Kentucky, Illinois and Colorado, and spoke at major sustainability forums in California, Illinois and Maryland.

He later served as Chief Public Affairs Officer and a member of the global executive team at pawaTech, a Tallinn, Estonia-based technology company operating across 18 African markets, where he led public affairs and regulatory strategy and helped establish a pan-African industry body.

Earlier in his career, he was Executive Director, Corporate Relations at Guinness Ghana Breweries, Head of Corporate Affairs at Unilever Ghana, where he also served as Administrator of the Unilever Ghana Foundation, Group Head of Corporate Affairs at the Mohinani Group, and Head of Projects and Customer Relations at K-NET Ghana.

Of particular relevance to his new role, he led Diageo's globally first drink-driving partnership with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), building an awareness e-module into Ghana's national driver's test. He also co-founded the Africa Plastics Recycling Alliance with Unilever, Nestlé and Coca-Cola.

He has served on several boards and industry bodies, including as Vice Chairman of the Beverage Sector of the Association of Ghana Industries and of the Alcohol Manufacturers and Importers Association. His awards include Ghana CSR Practitioner of the Year (2018), second-best Corporate Relations Leader across Diageo globally, and three Diageo Global Corporate Relations Awards (2019).

Mr Opoku-Asare holds a BSc in Land Economy from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), an MA in International Relations from the University of Leicester, UK, and a Graduate Certificate in Public Relations from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), and has completed executive education at Harvard University and the University of Oxford. He is an Accredited Public Relations Practitioner (APR) and an alumnus of Opoku Ware School, Kumasi.

Speaking on his appointment, Mr Opoku-Asare said: "I am deeply honoured by this call to service. Road maintenance is where public money either protects lives and livelihoods or is lost to potholes and delay. This Board will be guided by accountability, value for money and partnership with the Ministry, Parliament, the road agencies, the private sector and road users."

He is expected to bring a sustainable approach to road maintenance, ensuring Ghana's roads are maintained efficiently, responsibly and for the long term. A keen global traveller, he has visited 80 countries across six continents.

Mr Opoku-Asare leads a 15-member Board of Trustees. The other members of the Board are:

• Mr Courage Kwabena Barlon – Administrator, Road Maintenance Trust Fund

• Ing. Samuel Kwasi Akuaku – Chief Director, Ministry of Roads and Highways

• Mrs Sarah Fafa Kpodo – Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice

• Mr Richard Fedieley – Ministry of Transport

• Dr Grace Fidelia Annan – Ministry of Finance

• Mr Amin Abdul-Rahaman – Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs

• Hon. Alidu Iddrisu Zakari – former Member of Parliament for Walewale; representing Civil Society with expertise in road infrastructure

• Queen Mother Mamaga Sename III – Presidential nominee

• Mrs Victoria Kuma-Mintah – Presidential nominee

• Sawla Wura Iddrisu Abdulai Nugbaso – Chief of Sawla; representing road users

• Mr Stephen Kwaku Attatsi – Association of Road Contractors

• Surv. Rev. Allan Okomeng-Mensah – Ghana Institution of Surveyors

• Ing. Godwin Joseph Brocke – Ghana Institution of Engineering

The Road Maintenance Trust Fund was established as a body corporate under the Road Maintenance Trust Fund Act, 2025 (Act 1147), replacing the former Road Fund. It is governed by its own Board of Trustees, drawn from government, professional bodies, traditional authorities, contractors, civil society and road users, and is subject to parliamentary oversight and independent audit.