MP for Dormaa West Drags Minister to Parliament over Bad Cocoa Roads
Member of Parliament for Dormaa West in the Bono Region, Hon Vincent Oppong Asamoah, has dragged the Minister for Roads and Highways to parliament over abandoned cocoa road projects in the constituency.
According to the MP, several cocoa road projects linking about seven cocoa communities within the Constituency have been abandoned after the change of government in 2017 and have since not received any form of grading and reshaping.
Hon Oppong Asamoah revealed this after he had posed a question to the Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon Kwesi Amoako-Atta on the floor of parliament on Friday, November 4, 2022.
“Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask the Minister for Roads and Highways, when contractors working on the under-listed roads in Dormaa West Constituency in the Bono Region, which were under construction before 2016 but have since been abandoned, would resume work, Atesikrom to Yaakkrom to Diabakrom, Nkrankwanta to Adaborkrom and Kasapin to Camp15,” the MP quizzed the sector Minister.
In response, the Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon Kwesi Amoako-Atta said the 31km Atesikrom to Yaakrom to Diabakrom road was awarded for construction in November 1016 to become completed in November 2018 under the Cocoa roads for upgrading.
He said the construction was stalled, but the contractor has resumed work on site and is 55 percent physically competing.
According to the Minister, the 22 km Nkrankwanta to Adaborkrom road is a regional road and was awarded on contract under the cocoa road programme in 2016, but the contract has since been terminated following the government rationalization exercises by the cocoabod.
He said the progress of work was estimated at 48 per cent complete as efforts have been taken to repackage the road for reward.
According to Hon Amoako-Atta, the 45 km Kasapin to Camp 15 road was awarded on contract in 2019 for completion on September 22, and work so far is 24 percent complete, stressing that, “No major works have been done from Kasapin to Camp 15 section covering about 20-45 km.”
“Mr. Speaker, the contractor is currently not on site. Efforts are being made by the Ghana Highways Authority (GHA) to get the Contractor return to site failure which will necessitate the initiation of contractual processes for termination of the Contract,” the Minister added.
But Speaking to EXPRESSNEWSGHANA after parliament proceedings, Hon Oppong said due to the poor road network in the constituency, business activities have decreased thus affecting the living standards of his constituents and Ghana as a whole.
He added that the Dorma West district was one of the biggest cocoa-producing areas in the country and yet roads leading to the communities were in a very poor state.
According to him, farmers in the catchment areas had a tough time carting their farm produce to towns and city centers.
The MP could not understand why such economic roads which were awarded to improve cocoa production in the country should be abandoned, especially in a cocoa session, where dry cocoa beans need to be sent to marketing centers by cars and trucks.
He stressed some of these roads on daily basis are like passing through hell and that each day, motorists and commuters groan on the road.
It’s a regular occurrence for cocoa farmers, commuters, and motorists, in general, to fall into the murky and dusty perpetually domiciled on the roads.
“The people in these community’s hopes were being dashed after the change of government in 2016. The roads were awarded on contract under the cocoa roads during John Mahama /NDC administration. The NPP government came in 2017 and stopped the contractors claiming they were doing an investigation and up to date, the roads have been left like that. The worst of all is that, there is no assurance if the roads in these communities, especially the Atesikrom to Yaakkrom to Diabakrom and Nkrankwanta to Adaborkrom roads, “Hon Oppong Asamoah bemoaned.
Nevertheless, he assured he would double up his lobbying at the Ministry to have the roads fixed for his people.
Source: expressnewsghana.com
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