University Of Health And Allied Sciences, Ho Needs A Good Access Road Urgently

Dear Hon. Kwesi Amoako Atta, congratulations on your re-appointment as the sector Minister responsible for Roads in Ghana. The picture above shows a minibus belonging to the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho (UHAS). The vehicle was stuck on the UHAS road when it rained last week in Ho. The University workers aboard the vehicle including some Senior Members had to enter the muddy water, pushed the car before they could go home after work last week (Wednesday 24, 2021). This open letter is to inform you that the access road from the city of Ho to the main campus of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) is in a sorry state, it is worse than what it was last year. You would recall, Hon. Road Minister, that the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo cut sod for the construction of the Sokode- Titrinu bypass road and the 5.3KM internal roads of UHAS last year. The sod cutting ceremony was held on September 1, 2020 and the project, which was earmarked for completion within 24 months, was awarded to First Sky Limited.

Hon. Amoako Atta, the people of the area including workers and university students were happy when the construction workers from First Sky Limited started working on the drains as part of the preparatory works towards the main road construction works. Little did the people in the area and perhaps the workers and students of the University know that the road construction work was never to be. The construction workers vanished few weeks after the sod cutting ceremony and until now, there is no sign of them anywhere in the area.

Hon, Road Minister, many were the opponents of the ruling party who criticised the President for cutting sods for so many capital intensive projects in an election year just to play to the electioneering gallery and to win votes in line with James Buchanan’s public choice theory. This theory points to how political parties and candidates express certain intentions for vote-winning purposes only. I want to believe that the abandonment of the UHAS road construction works by the contractor since September 2020 (6 months ago) is not vindicating the critics of the Akuffo Addo Administration that the presidential sod cutting ceremonies in 2020 were nothing short of a mirage.

Hon. Amoako Atta, UHAS is a public university established about 9 years ago as an academic and professional tertiary institution dedicated to the training of health and allied health professionals. Quite apart from the fact that the University’s School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences (SBBS) currently serves as one of the national COVID-19 Testing Centres that takes care of Oti and Volta Regions as well as parts of the Eastern Region, the University has made and continues to make giant strides in health research globally and locally.

In spite of the fact that this young public university has been contributing immensely to national development since its operational inception in 2012, it does not have a good access road befitting the status of a university. The road to the University is a necessity rather than a luxury.

The Situation on the Very Bad UHAS Road

Hon. Roads Minister, the UHAS road is that bad. It is very dusty in dry weather and becomes a “river” with a little rain. The picture above was taken last week on the UHAS road when it was raining. Portions of the road are waterlogged hence significant parts of the road became a “river” last week, making it very difficult for the workers and other commuters to drive through with ease. This is a recurrent phenomenon on rainy days and most often, the vehicles are stuck on the road due to numerous gullies and workers have to resort to vehicle pushing. The disgraceful aspect, Hon. Amoako Atta, is that even foreign visitors to the University are also compelled to go through this hardship on the UHAS road sometimes. It does not speak well of Ghana our dear country and it does not speak well of the University. Hon. Roads Minister, I dare say that the UHAS road is bad enough to make a pregnant woman have a miscarriage.

My Plea

Hon. Minister, my plea per this open letter is that you should kindly authorize the contractors (First Sky Ltd.) to return to site to work on the UHAS road. This way, members of the University Community will not continue to endure the plight of driving on a very bad road to and from work as well as getting into muddy waters to push stuck vehicles. This is a plea from a concerned citizen and I hope this plea gets to your attention. It should not get to the point where university workers may go on strike or students stage a demonstration to drum home the need for the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho to have a good road.

Conclusion

Hon. Kwesi Amoako Atta, it does not seem that the University Management has what it takes to construct the access road from the Ho City to the main campus. If they had the means to do so, they would have started something in that direction, methinks. I equally wonder if road construction is part of the University’s mandate. This, therefore, calls for governmental intervention to fix the UHAS road as a matter of priority. I hope you will do something and you will do so expeditiously.

~Asante Sana ~

Author: Philip Afeti Korto

Email: [email protected]