In a latest press release, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Obuasi Municipality has praised the initiative of the ‘Save Obuasi Movement’. The movement is a pressure group which is seeking for an improvement of Obuasi roads.
The Save Obuasi Movement submitted a petition to the Obuasi Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Elijah Bonnah last week and the NDC believes it is a “well-intentioned move, one that has the capacity to engender development and progress.” The NDC also took the opportunity to state their contributions to roads develeopment and improvement in Obuasi.
Read the full statement below:
THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS: OBUASI WEST AND EAST CONSTITUENCIES
Press Statement for Immediate Release
Tuesday, 27/06/2017
OBUASI NDC LAUDS INITIATIVE BY ‘SAVE OBUASI MOVEMENT’
The leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the entirety of members of the party in the Obuasi Municipality have learned with delight a petition which was recently sent to the office of the Municipal Chief Executive for Obuasi by a group christened ‘Save Obuasi Movement’ on the deplorable state of some roads in the Municipality. We want to state that we fully associate ourselves with the move by the group, membership being key persons of the media in the Municipality. The spirit and letter of the petition, it must be emphasized, is one that is in the supreme interest of the development of Obuasi, hence our association with it.
The NDC seizes this opportunity to commend ‘Save Obuasi Movement’ for such a well-intentioned move, one that has the capacity to engender development and progress. The issue that took centre-stage in the petition was the bad nature of some roads in Obuasi. The object of the move was basically to highlight the state of the roads for attention and to that extent, it is a laudable one. We think that the time has come for all to join hands in the developmental agenda of Ghana in general and Obuasi in particular. This role has, for a long time, been left with politicians and other duty bearers, the results of which have not been impressive. The media, as often referred to as the fourth estate of the realm, has a crucial role to play in this direction. It is against this backdrop that the NDC deems it imperative to register our full-hearted appreciation to the group and to encourage it not to rest on its oars.
Having said this, it is important that the NDC in Obuasi uses this medium to state its contribution to the road sector in the Municipality for the avoidance of doubt and for the record. Our performance in the road sector has not been bad at all. You would recall that somewhere in 1996, the NDC Government asphalted the main Obuasi road and later worked on the arterial roads in Obuasi. It is important also to add that under former President Mills, the Abompe Road was done with drainage through Horsey Park to the whole of Estate (both old and new) roads and finally ending the first phase at Transformer. Fortunately, our own, Hon. John Alexander Ackon, was made Ashanti Regional Minister in March, 2016. Within the short time he was regional minister, he made all efforts to address our road concerns despite the heavy workload on him and the limited time. Hon. Ackon, for the record, was regional minister for just nine months which is less than a year. The second phase of the Abompe Road works continued; the evidence of the drainage work is there for all to see. Work was to continue from Abompe Transformer through the community to the courts road that links the Obuasi-Kumasi Highway. Work was to continue through New Estate to Government Hill Road and finally from the Agric Offices to the Post Office.
It is an indisputable fact that the Boete Road was awarded on contract under the immediate past NDC Government. It would be recalled that during the recent visit to Obuasi by the current Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon. Simon Osei-Mensah, the Regional Director for Urban Roads disclosed to the media that the contractor was expected to have mobilized to site last year but he could not. More importantly, the Obuasi-Awiankwanta Road was similarly awarded and this was categorically put out by the immediate past Ashanti Regional Minister on all the FM Stations in Obuasi. Of course, the Kunka-Dunkwa Road rehabilitation had started but work got stalled due to payment challenges the contractor encountered. As regards the Obuasi-Awiankwanta and Boete Roads, the contractors advertently waited, and reasonably so, for the outcome of the 2016 elections after having secured their contract certificates, all verifiable at the regional directorate of Urban Roads and Highways.
Under Hon. Richard Ofori-Agyeman Boadi, the immediate past Municipal Chief Executive for Obuasi, the following efforts were made to give a facelift to the road sector in the Municipality:
(a) resealing of 2 km stretch of road from DVLA through Mensahkrom to Sec. Tech.
(b) sealing of 1 km stretch of road at Koffikrom
(c) sealing of 2.2 km stretch of road at Gausu Extension
(d) sealing of 1.2 km stretch of ABUSCO Road at Akaporiso
(e) resealing of 0.6 km stretch of Confidence Road at Gausu Extension
(f) construction and upgrading of roads, phase 1 (4 km) at Artisan Site at New Baakoyeden
(g) construction and upgrading of Kwabenakwa-Mampamhwe Road with bridges, phase 1 (7 km)
(h) sealing of 1.3 km stretch of Kunka-Mile 9 Road towards the new DVLA Office at Kunka.
We wish to draw the attention of the leadership of ‘Save Obuasi Movement’ to the aforementioned efforts the NDC made to improve the road situation in the Golden City but, of course, there were some unfinished businesses which must be finished up by the current government. The NDC, the NPP and all other political parties in the Municipality plus the media, other interest groups and the generality of persons in Obuasi should and must be partners in development. The forward march of Obuasi takes precedence over and above all other considerations. It would be pretty much needless, unwise and a disservice to Obuasi to start all over again. The greater part of the unfinished businesses has been done. The difficulty is always the acceptance of the project and the cumbersome nature of the procurement processes, all of which has been done. What is left is for the government, through the Ministry of Roads and Highways, to pay outstanding certificates and order the contractors to get to site. Luckily, one of our own is a Deputy Minister of Finance. The Ministry of Finance, as we all know, is the ministry that controls cash with which all contracts are executed. We believe that Hon. Kwaku Agyeman Kwarteng is in a good position to push to get these roads completed for the collective good of Obuasi. We make the point forcefully that all energies should be directed at continuing with the agenda for transformation of Obuasi. The Directive Principles of State Policy to which a whole chapter (Chapter Six) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana is dedicated should and must guide us.
Let us all put our shoulders to the wheel to make Obuasi great and strong.
Signed:
David Adama
(Obuasi West Constituency Sec.)
William Kofi Adzowu
(Obuasi East Constituency Sec.)