Dr. Akoto inspects road projects in constituency

THE MEMBER of Parliament (MP) for Old-Tafo and former Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei, has paid a day's working visit to his constituency, to inspect developmental projects currently going on in.

Dr. Akoto Osei was accompanied by his Constituency Chairman, Mr. Moses Donkor, and party executives at the Zongo wards. The projects, which include the construction of about eight kilometers of roads in the Tafo Adompom Electoral Area, installation of streetlights, culverts drains, as well as toilets, is under the World Bank/KMA Urban IV-Phase II project under the Urban, Environmental Sanitation Programme (UESP), funded by the World Bank.

The UESP IV-II project, which was approved by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) for the Old-Tafo and Ayigya sub-metros in Kumasi in 2007, suffered a delay in its commencement, as a result of administrative and procurement processes of the World Bank.

The slow execution of the project by the contractor, ABP Engineering Consultants, generated rumours amongst residents in the community that the project had been abandoned, as a result of the defeat of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.

It was against this development that the former Minister paid a working visit to the area, which is dominated by the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to assure residents of the continuation of the project.

Addressing journalists after the inspection of the projects, the MP dispelled rumours that work had been abandoned, explaining that the slow pace of work was due to some technicalities, which had now been rectified.

He further debunked the assertion that the project was being constructed by the government of the NDC, adding that the “the new government was yet to pay old contractors, let alone offer new ones.

“This project was brought by Kufuor's administration, and I recall we met at the Methodist Church with all stakeholders on the project, to discuss how it will benefit the local residents, in terms of jobs and compensation payments to house-owners whose properties will be affected by the project,” he added.

He assured the people of his continuous support and commitment towards ensuring the development of the Zongo communities, irrespective of which party was in power.