'Nonsense' shoddy works on our roads ends now - Amoako Attah warns

Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Attah has sternly warned road contractors and engineers to stop the habit of doing shoddy works when given contracts to construct roads in the country.

A furious Amoako-Atta could not fathom why roads constructed in other countries oftentimes have a 10 to 15 year life-span before maintenance works are even carried out, but the story is different in Ghana where newly constructed roads cannot sometimes last 2 years before developing potholes.

Speaking to Peace FM News on the sidelines of his maiden “Meet-The-Press” series under the auspices of the Ministry of Information on Tuesday, Hon. Amoako-Attah condemned the shameful practice of “Sa pete”, to wit, “just throw the gravels around” that some road contractors indulge in.

To him, those contractors who engage in such reprehensible behaviour have no respect for Ghanaians and also don’t have the fear of God in them; warning that the Akufo-Addo government will not countenance such “nonsense” again.

“I am telling you that under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo and his government, this kind of nonsense will not happen again," he vowed.

The Roads and Highways Minister revealed that a total of GH? 1.407 billion has been disbursed for maintenance works, activities of the beneficiary agencies and repayment of the outstanding portion of the UBA loan as at the end of 2018.

He further disclosed that in 2019, a total of about 11,100km of trunk roads are going to be worked on.

"....there is going to be additional periodic maintenance activities such as spot improvement, re-gravelling, resealing, asphaltic overlay as well as partial reconstruction works on 55km of trunk roads, 500km, of feeder roads and 400km of urban roads....

"Minor rehabilitation works are also expected on 50km of trunk roads, 450km of feeder roads and 60km of urban roads with about 90km of trunk roads and 30km of urban roads scheduled for construction," he added.