Kwasi Amoako-Atta, the Minister for Roads and Highways, has asked contractors working on the Assin Praso-Assin Fosu road and other projects within the Assin North Constituency not to be pressured by the political atmosphere to produce substandard work.
He urged them to take their time and deliver quality work because the projects were meant to improve the lives of the people and not to achieve political expediency.
“Don’t rush unnecessarily; we want to do excellent and quality roads for the good people of Ghana,” the Minister stated.
Mr Amoako-Atta cautioned the contractors when he inspected the ongoing 31.2-kilometre road from Assin Praso to Assin Fosu as part of phase-two of the National Trunk Road (N8) project connecting Cape Coast and Kumasi.
The project estimated at 50 million dollars is being sponsored by the Japanese Government and executed by Shimizu Dai Nippon Joint Ventures, a construction firm, under the supervision of the Ghana Highways Authority.
With about 18 kilometres of the road passing through the Assin North Constituency, the scope of the project includes dualising a 1.2-kilometre stretch within the Assin Fosu township and constructing drainage systems.
The N8 would also see the construction of concrete pavements, reconstruction of the railway underpass bridge with a reinforced box culvert among other ancillaries.
The Road Minister in the company of Mrs Justina Marigold Assan, the Central Regional Minister, and Mr Samuel Kwasi Akuaku, the Central Regional Director of the Ghana Highway Authority, also visited the ongoing 13-kilometre road from Asempaneye Junction to Assin Kushea.
“We are not doing it because of the elections. We want to build quality roads so that the country will have value for money,” he stressed.
The Assin Kushea feeder road, which commenced in January 2020, was supposed to be completed in 2021 but delayed because of challenges including expansion in the scope of work and rainfall, the contractor, Memphis Metropolitan Limited, had explained.
A by-election is looming in the Assin North Constituency following the Supreme Court’s ruling, directing Parliament to expunge the Member of Parliament, Mr Gyakye Quayson’s name from its records.
Consequently, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) are both making frantic efforts to grasp the vacant seat.
In view of that, many have said the construction of some roads and the recent visit of top government officials to the area were just political campaign gimmicks to win votes.
However, the minister said such claims could not be true, Reiterating the President’s commitment to developing the country’s road network, he indicated that 12 projects were ongoing concurrently within Assin North many of which commenced in 2020.
“Even before the by-election, a lot of projects were going on.We are happy that so many projects are ongoing so that nobody will take advantage to poison the minds of people to say we are doing it because of the by-election,” he said.
“In any case, if a government does a good thing, it needs to be rewarded and I know that at the right time, the good people of Assin will show appreciation to this government,” he added.
Mr Amoako-Atta expressed satisfaction with the quality of work done so far on the various projects and commended the contractors for their hard work.
“The road is very well-built up to the base level, but you have to improve upon the cumber nature of the road due to the rains.
” We have a lot of confidence in you. We will give you every support you need to seal the road as quickly as possible,” he urged the engineers of Memphis Metropolitan Limited.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) has settled on Tuesday, June 27 as the date for Assin North by-election.