Government procures heavy equipment

The government has procured some heavy equipment to facilitate road works in the rural areas and to reduce the associated financial burdens on district assemblies.

The equipment include 20 payloaders, 20 tipper trucks, 60 graders, 10 excavators, 5 bulldozers and some service vans to help maintain the equipment.

Mr. Nii Lante Vanderpuye, the Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, said with the procurement of the equipment, district assemblies would not have to buy or hire such equipment during road works but would only need to request for the equipment, fuel them and cater for other minor expenses.

Mr. Emmanuel Kojo-Agyekum, Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, said the equipment was acquired through parliamentary approval of a partnership between Ghana and Germany-based Exim Bank.

He said the ministry realized the need for the equipment when the poor state of rural roads was brought to the fore by traditional leaders and district assemblies during the ministry’s national sanitation day tours.

He said though district assemblies were doing their best, they would not be able to tackle the problem alone and since rural development was also a responsibility of the ministry, the ministry placed the issue before government.

President John Dramani Mahama, who inspected the new equipment, said the nature of roads in rural areas was a major drawback and allowing district assemblies to hire or purchase their own equipment in the past had not proved to be effective.

He said the equipment would be divided into three depots; northern, middle and southern so that they couldbe dispatched easily when district assemblies were in need of them.

The President said the equipment could also help in sanitation exercises.

“This equipment can also be used for waste management and for clearing some of the huge garbage heaps that we see. So aside the road intervention, there is also going to be an assistance with sanitation”, he said.

He expressed pleasure also with the service vans, saying that it was proper maintenance of the equipment that was going to ensure true value.

Mr. Nii Lante Vanderpuye said that the suppliers had a three-year guarantee for the equipment.

He said experts would train about 50 people in the use of the equipment and select 10 for further training in Germany so they could return with more knowledge.

He added that the initiative was not to take over the duty of the Department of Feeder Roads and the Ministry of Roads and Highways but to supplement their work.