The Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Payin has called on the Nana Akufo-Addo government to as a matter of urgency work on the various roads in the Eastern Region as was promised by the New Patriotic Party ahead of the 2016 general election.
The Okyenhene made the call at Akyem Wenchi on Wednesday, as part of his tour through the Akyem Abuakwa lands ahead of his 20th anniversary as the overlord of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area.
“The roads in Okyenman are very difficult to drive on. If you look at the amount of mineral resources the country draws from our lands and export for foreign exchange, this should not be the state of our roads.”
“I am not saying this because of politics. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo promised us that they were going to construct our roads and we are only calling on him to fulfill his promise,” he said.
The Okyenhene indicated that countries such as Korea and Malaysia have developed because they focused on education and infrastructure.
He praised the President for the implementation of the free Senior High School programme but added that development in the education sector alone is not enough if it is not linked to a corresponding development in infrastructure.
Okyehene Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Payin continued his journey to Achiase on Thursday.
This was part of the Nifa division tour.
Speaking to the people, he said, “I call on anybody who feel or believe he or she owns Okyenman lands to come to Kyebi and prove to me and stop walking around boasting and telling people that I don’t have any land here.”
He said this when the DCE of Achiase Hon Richmond Amponsah appealed to him to talk to the chiefs in the area to release lands to the Assembly to construct developmental projects for the people.
Richmond Amponsah also told Okyenhene to settle chieftaincy issues in his area which is causing a lot of problems and delays in development in the area.
Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Payin has on several occasions called on government to fix the roads in the region.
In 2014, the Okyenhene criticized the then ruling government (President John Mahama’s administration) over their failure to fix the roads in the Eastern region.
He lamented that various governments have over the years ignored appeals to develop roads in the region.
He therefore called on the people of Akyem to maximize their efforts in pushing the agenda to get the roads fixed.
Responding to the complaints, the Ministry of Roads and Highways said most roads across the country are undergoing maintenance works, or have been awarded for rehabilitation and extension.