Set up special road maintenance groups

Winneba (C/R), June 28, GNA - Mr Charles Kwabena Okyere, the life patron of the Winneba-Junction-based Anyidado Welfare Club, has advocated the establishment of a Special National Road Maintenance Groups (SNRMG) in all the 247 districts of the Country.

Each district should be empowered to set up at least ten of such groups with five workers in a group to handle road repair works in their respective operational areas.

Apart from the filling of major and minor potholes, members should also be responsible for the regular clearance of weedy flanks of both feeder and major road networks in their jurisdiction.

Mr Okyere was speaking to the Ghana News Agency on the increasing poor maintenance of roads, especially feeder roads in the regions, after sensitizing members of the club on their individual responsibilities towards the attainment of targeted national goals.

He regretted that lack of effective maintenance of roads in the rural areas had resulted into road deterioration.

Mr Okyere said for the state to derive maximum benefit from the proposed Special Road Maintenance Groups they should be allocated the number of kilometres each group should cover for a year.

The Ministry of Roads and Highways should arrange for technical personnel to train and offer members of the Special Road Maintenance Groups proper guidelines adding that, government must also work out plans to rehabilitate all the abandoned living quarters of the defunct Public Works Department (PWD) located in various parts of the country to house members of the SNRMGS.

Mr Okyere was hopeful that the proposed SRMG would supplement the NPP government's determination to create adequate employment opportunities for thousands of jobless youth in the country, particularly those in the rural areas to reduce their movements to urban centres in search of jobs.

'It will also serve as effective machinery for the revival of the Public Works Department and eventually stop jobless young men in the rural communities from constituting themselves into ''one man'' or ''three-member'' potholes filling contractors

The Sector Minister of Roads and Highways should appoint special committees which would inspect the operations of these groups every three months, and submit their reports to the various District, Municipal, and Metropolitan Assemblies.

Mr Okyere was not happy about the practice of some highway officials in the regions who waited till they were informed of planned visits of the President to their areas of operation, before initiating moves to reshape the bad state of roads leading to the rural communities earmarked for the Presidential tour.

He therefore, appealed to the Minister of Roads and Highways to ensure that officials who had cultivated such unproductive habits would change.

GNA