Koforidua, Jan. 29, GNA - The Minister of Roads and Transport, Dr Richard Anane, has warned managements and consultants of road construction firms that they would be jointly liable for any lapses on their performance.
He mentioned some of the lapses as inconsistent technical specifications with those designed by the Ministry for roads and bridges, the use of gravel materials without prior testing of their suitability and the improper statement of items for projects. The Minister's warning was contained in a speech read for him at the annual management seminar for top officials of the Department of Feeder Roads (DFR) at Koforidua on Wednesday.
Dr Anane asked management of the department to ensure that the rules and regulations governing their operations were strictly enforced to ensure value for money.
The Minister reminded them that under the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), the focus of the road sector was to improve accessibility of the rural and urban poor to social and economic activities and to further reduce the cost of transportation. Dr Anane pointed out that the approach to effective distribution of the road network to farms and production centres for effective marketing of farm produce and processed materials should be holistic, saying it behoves the department to consult with other roads sector agencies with similar programmes for effective co-ordination.
The Director of the Department of Feeder Roads, Mr Martin Mensa, who gave an overview of the Department's activities, said out of the total classified feeder roads network of 32,600 kilometres, about 20,900 kilometres had been engineered and provided with the required bridges and culverts to make them motorable throughout the year.
He said in 2003, the Department's achievements included the tarring of 132 kilometres of feeder roads, 27 kilometres of roads in 17 towns and 18 kilometres in some eleven second-cycle institutions in addition to the building of 16 bridges and 759 culverts.
Mr Mensa said with the support of donor partners, the department had invested in the training of its staff, consultants and contractors. He said in line with the decentralization policy, the Department was supporting District Assemblies in establishing their Works Departments, saying as at December last year, it had posted 70 technicians to 70 districts and Foremen and Works Superintendents to 102 districts.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Francis Osafo-Mensah, reminded them that many rural communities had identified themselves with the department hence they should also not fail them in their operations. 29 Jan. 04
