The Ministry of Roads and Highways has made an ambitious and blanket promise to fix all poor roads in the country.
Without outlining a plan, the sector minister, Kwesi Amoako Atta, simply said Ghanaians deserved better quality roads.
He said the government was aware citizens expected better, hence this assurance.
The Minister was speaking at a sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of the Tema Steel Works and DVLA roads where he said, “on behalf of the President and the government, I want to assure this nation that all roads, one after the other, are going to be fixed in this nation.”
“We are going to give Ghanaians quality roads. The government knows the importance of roads in our economic development,” Mr Amoako Attah added.
The country has a plethora of abandoned road projects, amid the already deteriorating ones and feeder road networks.
Some of these issues have to do with lack of funds, like in the case of the Eastern Corridor. Long stretches of the project have been abandoned, with contractors citing a lack of funds for their inability to continue with the work.
The Minister, once again, also said his ministry was going to blacklist road contractors who deliver shoddy work.
This is despite the fact he made similar pledges in 2017 on multiple occasions with no significant action.
“Government shall not tolerate any shoddy work from any contractor. Ghanaians must have value for money, regarding cost and regarding quality. We want to embark on quality infrastructure because we all know that infrastructure forms the fulcrum around which the development of this nation revolves.”
The sod cutting was to begin construction on a 5.4-kilometre concrete road from the Tema Steel Works Junction through the offices of the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority (DVLA) to the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Junction in Tema.
The project, being financed by the government of Ghana, is expected to be completed in 18 months.
The work will be undertaken by Messrs Joshob Construction Company and Lemef Construction Limited, both local companies.
This came a year after Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia said the government was considering the advice of the Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference to use concrete for roads nationwide instead of asphalt.
Dr Bawumia said this was to be the first step in a new direction he hoped the Ministry of Roads and Highways would continue.
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citinewsroom.com/Ghana