Gov’t invests GH¢4.12bn into road infrastructure in Bono Region — Asiedu Nketiah

Government has invested GH¢4.12 billion into road infrastructure development projects in the Bono Region, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has disclosed.

He said the road infrastructure development project covered about 252 kilometres, including the on-going construction of the Jinijini-Sampa, Wenchi-Nsawkaw-Debibi-Sampa and the Berekum-Seikwa Road project as well as the Sunyani Outer Ring Road project.

Mr Nketiah disclosed this when speaking at the fourth edition of the Bono Regional chapter of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Awards in Sunyani.

The event was on the theme: “Ethics, integrity and impactful journalism: Essential ingredients for societal transformation” and nine deserving media practitioners and journalists were honoured.

Mr Nketiah explained that the huge investments being made in the road sector in Bono by the government was based on the region's strong agricultural base, saying that improved roads would reduce the cost of transporting farm produce to markets.

That would also enable farmers to retain more of the value of their produce, he stated, adding that improved road infrastructure could also make it easier for businesses to establish operations outside major cities and also connecting previously difficult-to-reach communities to wider economic opportunities.

Mr Nketiah commended President John Dramani Mahama for what he described as the urgency he had brought to the infrastructure development in the country.

“The President has been moving round the country to inspect projects, ask questions about their progress and put pressure on those responsible for their delivery and I think that is very is important,” he stated.

Mr Nketiah expressed worry that the nation had lost considerable time over the years through delays in project implementation, saying that: “When a road expected to take three years to complete took eight or 10 years, the consequences go beyond the contractor and the responsible ministry.”

He added that: “The farmer, the trader and the business that will have benefited from that road have also waited those additional years.”

The NDC National Chairman noted that: “The same applies to critical sectors like electricity, water, education and healthcare” urging successive governments to learn to respond to national challenges with greater urgency.

Mr Nketiah noted that the country could not continue “moving from crisis to recovery only to find itself repairing the economy again after a few years”.

He said successive governments ought to recognise that economic discipline remained an integral part of national development, and worried that ordinary citizens ultimately bore the consequences of economic indiscipline.

GNA