The Upper East Regional branch of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the government to honour all financial obligations to the contractor executing the 117.9-kilometre Bolgatanga-Bawku-Polimakom road project.
“We hold the view that if the necessary payments are advanced to the contractor, the project will be completed as scheduled to bring relief to motorists and drivers,” they said.
Addressing the maiden edition of the Upper East Must Know Series last Tuesday, the Regional Communication Officer of the party, Abdallah Jonathan Salifu, said there must not be further delays to the road project since it had already suffered enough delays.
The NDC party in the region has Instituted the series to periodically engage the media on pressing issues pertaining to the region.
The press conference centred on the abandoned road project and the shortage of
routine vaccines against the six childhood killer diseases in the region.
The contractor executing the road project, Queroz Galvao, has abandoned it apparently due to the non-payment of funds.
Similar abandoned projects
Mr Salifu said similar projects have been abandoned in the region, notably the Navrongo-Naaga road, Chuchuliga-Sandema-Fumbisi-Wiesi road as well as a section of the Missiga-Kulungugu road project.
He stressed ” all these important road projects have been abandoned by the respective contractors as a result of the government’s unwillingness to commit funds to complete them.
“There is nothing worth pointing to in the region in terms of development for the past six years the NPP-led government assumed the reigns of power,” he indicated.
Shortage of vaccines
Touching on the shortage of routine vaccines, he urged the government to take urgent steps to procure the vaccines and supply them to health facilities in the region.
This, he noted, will avert any outbreak of deadly childhood diseases in the region.
Furthermore, he called on President Akufo-Addo to drastically down wasteful by reducing the size of the government, suspending non-essential projects such as the national cathedral and channelling the savings to address the challenges confronting the health sector and others that are begging for similar attention.