GH¢500m For Ashanti Roads – Akufo-Addo Reveals

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has revealed that his administration has set aside an amount of GH¢500 million to construct new roads, as well as give a facelift to some existing roads in the Ashanti Region.

Speaking at the Akwasidae celebration at the Manhyia Palace on Sunday, he noted that despite the “unprecedented infrastructural development” touted by the previous government, the consistent cry of the citizenry everywhere, since he assumed office, has been about the poor nature of their roads, and wondered where the supposedly “unprecedented infrastructural development” touted by his predecessor was coming from.

According him, the roads in Ghana's second biggest city, Kumasi, are nothing to write home about, even though much of the country's revenue and resources come from the Ashanti Region.

The President lamented that his government was left with a bankrupt economy, but with hard work and discipline, it has been able to find money, and that GH¢500 million has been devoted to roads in the Ashanti Region.

He said the comprehensive plan for the Kumasi Roads Facelift Project has already been approved by Cabinet, and will result in the facelift of Kumasi roads, as well as the development of roads in the Ashanti Region.

The President noted that his administration cannot fix all roads in the region, and, indeed, the entire country at a go, but expressed the hope that before he leaves office, the vast majority of roads in the country would have been fixed.

He reiterated that the government's focus on infrastructure is not only about the development of the country's road network, but also the railway infrastructure is also critical to the country's needs.

He recounted that over the years, the railway sector had not been maintained, and disclosed that, under his government, the railway sector is undergoing massive rehabilitation.

He said the sector Minister for Railways Development, Joe Ghartey, will roll-out the comprehensive plan “my Government has for the redevelopment of our country's railway sector.”

He assured nananom (chiefs) and the gathering that Kumasi is at the heart of the government, and will be a central hub of the whole railway infrastructure of the country, to ensure easy access from Kumasi to Nyinahini, and all the key natural resource areas in the Ashanti Region.

Nana Akufo-Addo appealed to Otumfuo Osei Tutu, and all Ashanti chiefs, to support the programmes and the policies put in place by his government, and also help educate their subjects about the importance of the policies.

He commended the work undertaken by the Asantehene in bringing most chieftaincy disputes in the region to an end, and appealed to him to help resolve all the remaining disputes, because chieftaincy disputes are a major drain on the government's resources.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, reminded the President that Ghanaians voted for him to roll-out development policies he promised, and expressed the hope that he will deliver on them.

He assured him of the support of nananom to help him in all his endeavours to improve the living standards of the citizenry.