Afram Plains road works progressing steadily

After years of neglect, the Sekyere West District's portion of the Afram Plains is being opened up with the construction of access roads to the area.

The first of such roads involves the construction of the 27-kilometre Domi-Oku-Blackee road at the cost of 3.2 billion cedis.

Mr Thomas Edward Atakorah, Sekyere West District Chief Executive, accompanied by the District Feeder Roads Engineer and the resident Catholic priest of Oku, has inspected progress of work on the road.

The project, which started in January this year, will be completed in April 2004.

Speaking during the inspection, Mr Atakorah said the construction of the road would ease the transportation of large quantities of foodstuffs out of the plains.

He said government was aware that the Afram Plains accounted for over 40 per cent of the country's food and would therefore do everything possible to let farmers in the area enjoy the fruits of their labour by opening up the area.

The Reverend Father Patrick Lynch, the resident priest at Oku, enumerated problems the people had to contend with and expressed dissatisfaction with the current situation where Oku and surrounding communities, which produced large quantities of food, had no resident extension officer.

Rev Father Lynch appealed to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to send an extension officer to reside in the area.