Minister urges workers to exercise restraint

Koforidua, July 18, GNA - Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, the Eastern Regional Minister, has appealed to workers in the public and private sectors to have patience for government whiles it worked around the clock to improve their service conditions.

He said government was fully aware of the hard times and difficult conditions workers were going through and gave the assurance that efforts were being made to put "smiles on their faces". Mr Ampofo was speaking at separate staff durbars at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Community Water and Sanitation (CWSA) and the Department of Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA) in Koforidua, as part of his institutional tour of government agencies and departments in the region.

He said the President in ensuring that the economy took a better shape to be able to realize the better Ghana for all, had cut down on government expenditure including his own per diem to mitigate the sufferings of the masses.

Accompanied by the Deputy Regional Minister, Mr Babal Jamal Mohamed, Mr. Ampofo said the economy was taking shape as bilateral donors had shown positive signs of helping the country adding that all Ghanaians would benefit from any economic gains. The Regional Director of the ECG, Mr Arthur Forson, said the company was embarking on expansion work including the building of new offices at Kyebi, Akyem Oda and Nkawkaw to ensure efficient power supply.

He said the company was also planning to run a 24-hour faults attendance team for prompt response to faults and power cuts in the region and opening of private vending stations for the pre-paid meters. The regional Director of the DVLA, Mr Vincent Fiati said that most drivers were not educated and could not read and understand road signs thereby involving themselves in fatal accidents. He said to address that anomaly, the DVLA had stopped issuing licenses to uneducated drivers but noted that many of them were already in the system and needed periodical training in languages that they would understand.

Mr Philip Amanor, the regional director of the CWSA, said that the company had provided boreholes, institutional KVIP's and household latrines to many rural communities in the region.

He said major challenge was maintenance of the facilities, especially the boreholes, which were mostly abandoned when they develop minor faults, which could easily be handled through a communal labour. The regional minister and the deputy regional minister later inspected high tension and electricity poles for expansion works in Koforidua and Nankese sub-stations and water and sanitation facilities also in Nankese and Akwadum. 19 July 09

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