MPs recommends qualified engineers for roads agencies

Mankessim, May 24, GNA- Members of the Parliamentary Select Committees on Roads and Transport on Friday recommended the Ministry of Roads and Transport to engage qualified and efficient engineers and personnel in the road agencies to ensure effective supervision and monitoring of roads works in the country.

According to them, roads work was capital intensive and therefore needed effective monitory and supervision to ensure that the huge capital invested did not go waste.

The Members, led by their chairman, Mr. Albert Kwaku Obbin, MP for Prestea-Huni Valley made the recommendation, after they inspected progress of road works in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem and Mfantseman municipalities, to end their week-tour of the Central Region. They inspected the surfacing of the 4.7 km Komenda-Junction , 3.75km Ataabadze-Junction-Ankwanda, 15.2 km Abrem-Agona-Efutu and 4.6km Mankessim town roads all valued at GH¢ 4,128,239.21.

The committee also recommended that the Ministry of Roads and Transport should endeavour to speed up with the processing and approval of certificates of claims put in by contractors, according to them most of the sites visited, the contractors had either suspended or abandoned their jobs due to the lack of cash flow and stressed that it was not a healthy development.

The members also suggested to the Ministry to consider using gravel and bitumen to tar roads in the region that do not have heavy traffic to reduce the cost of tarring with bitumen and chippings and urged contractors to use quality materials for their work to enhance quality roads in the country.

The members commended contractors in the region for the good work they have done so far, stressing that the total of roads projects in the region were about 60 percent complete and were hopeful that if the contractors are paid their claims early enough, they would be able to finish their work on schedule. They however, expressed concern about the lack of a viable stone quarry in the whole of the Central Region and appealed to the private sector to invest in stone quarry, since the government would be constructing more roads in the country, considering the approval of the 15km of roads for each district. Alhaji Amadu Seidu, MP for Yapei-Kusawgu and Ranking member, for his part expressed concern about encroachment of land designated for roads and urged the road agencies to liaise with the district assemblies to address the situation.

He also expressed concern about the quality of some of the roads, which he said, did not have road signs and markings, stressing that the non-availability of such items were contributing greatly to road accidents and urged the road agencies to always take into consideration road signs and markings when awarding contracts.

Mr Samuel Obodai, Deputy Central Region Minister and former chairman of the committee, expressed concern about the lack of effective supervision and monitory of road works in the country and appealed to the committee to critically look at the situation and ensure that the Ministry provided the needed personnel to monitor road projects. He also appealed to the committee to make it a matter of urgency, for the tarring of the Assin North roads, since apart from the tarred main Cape Coast- Kumasi road, not even a kilometre of road in the district was tarred.

Mr. Kofi Boama-Djan Central Regional director of highways on behalf of the road agencies commended the committee for visiting the region and appealed to the committee to take the issues of lack of qualified engineers and logistics seriously with the Ministry of Roads and Transports.

In all, the committee inspected more than 22 urban roads, feeder roads and highways in eight districts in the Central Regional and are expected to visit the region again in September when most of the contractors are expected to complete their work.