John Mahama Gets Stuck On Bole-Bamboi Road

Maluwe N/R -- Following a heavy downpour, the Bole Bamboi road had been rendered unmotorable and government has come under severe criticism by some Members of Parliament (MPs) from the North.

Speaking to The Chronicle in separate interviews, Mr. John Mahama, MP for Bole-Bamboi, whose constituency was hit by the tragedy and Mr. E.S. Zumakpeh, MP for Nadowli South, attributed the state of the road to the lackadaisical attitude of the government towards the construction of the project.

According to them, during the NDC regime, the road was awarded on contract, scheduled to be completed within 16 months.

"But, when this government took over from the NDC, it suspended the contract with the reason that the contract sum was high and they lacked funds," said Mr. Mahama.

Mr. Mahama told The Chronicle that the NDC government had awarded the contract to two construction firms, namely Messrs Razel of France and P & W Ghanem, and the project had begun.

Mr. Mahama said despite the fact that the road had been featured in so many sessional addresses of the President, little had been done to complete it.

He said it was unfortunate for the NPP government to abrogate the contract awarded to Razel and Ghanem, adding, " the Bole-Bamboi road should have been completed by now if the NPP government was not playing politics with it."

He disclosed that with even the review of the contract by the present government, it was not able to award the whole road on contract as done by the NDC.

According to him, Lampoga to Tinga was the only portion of the road given to Ghanem, as the other contractor, Razel, had failed to bid for it.

Mr. Mahama told the paper that the 72 - mile road from Lampoga to Bamboi was divided in two for the contractor, for reasons best known to the government.

He appealed to the government to expedite action on the road.

Mr. Zumakpeh said for about three and half years now, the NPP government had constructed only eight kms of the road from where they, (NDC) had left it and it had now become an albatross around the neck its commuters.

The MP said the Bole-Bamboi- road was the only link between the Upper West region and the southern sector, but because of its bad nature, most businesses in the area were collapsing.

He called on the government to tackle the project as a matter of urgency.

The Bole Bamboi road, on Wednesday July, was divided into two at a diversion point at Maluwe near Bole following a heavy down pour.

Hundreds of heavy vehicles and cars on either sides of the road were stranded, as one of the trucks was stuck in the middle of a small bridge built to serve as a diversion for vehicles.

This reporter, in the company of Mr. Mahama had reached Maluwe at about 5 am, but due to the dissection of the road, had to wait till the stuck truck had been removed.

At about 6 pm, Mr. Mahama had organized the workers of P & W Ghanem, the contractors to remove the truck and build a temporal bridge for the vehicles.

The MP for Nadowli South was also a victim, as his Nissan Pick-up got stuck while trying to use a diversion created by the youth of Maluwe.