Asenso-Boakye commends Buz Stop Boys for keeping drains/gutters clean
The Minister of Roads and Highways, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has commended a group of young men, the Buz Stop Boys, for their initiative of cleaning drains and gutters in cities and towns across the country.
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The Buz Stop Boys is undertaking voluntary desilting of choked drains and gutters in cities and towns to avoid flooding during the rains.
During a courtesy call on the minister at his office last Wednesday, Mr Asenso-Boakye donated GH¢10,000 to the leadership of the group to motivate its members to do more for the country.
The Leader and Founder of the Bus Stop Boys, Ohene Kwadwo Sarfo and other members of the group paid a courtesy call at the invitation of the minister.
“These young men are what we call the Buz Stop Boys, they are doing pretty well. Having been the Minister of Works and Housing and currently the Minister for Roads, I realised that these little contributions that they are doing have a direct bearing on the work that we are doing in terms of the provision of infrastructure for our people,” Mr Asenso-Boakye stated.
He said one of the primary reasons for flooding in the country was because “our drains are almost always silted and, therefore, they lose the capacity to absorb water and, when the drains cannot absorb or contain the water, it goes out as runoff water and floods our cities and towns”.
The minister said flooding was a huge problem and that it destroyed properties and sometimes people lost their lives.
“When I saw the work that they were doing, I thought it is a very good work that they are doing and they needed to be encouraged,” the minister stated.
“So, I invited them to my office, I wanted to see how my ministry can collaborate with them and I want to also personally encourage them and make a personal donation to support them in what they are doing so that it will encourage them to do more for our country,” he added.
Shared responsibility
Mr Asenso-Boakye reiterated that development was a shared responsibility and that the government played its part and the individuals also must play their part.
He underscored that Ghanaians needed to change their attitude towards development, saying “Because even if you bring angels to come and rule the country and we never change our mindset, we will never get anywhere”.
“And everybody continues to blame the government; we live in a third-world country where everybody thinks that the government should do everything. Of course, the government has a role to play but we also, as citizens, have a role to play, so that together we shape the development as shared responsibility,” Mr Asenso-Boakye stressed.
On behalf of the group, the leader and founder expressed gratitude to the minister for the kind gesture.
Mr Sarfo appealed to Ghanaians to change their attitude and desist from dumping waste into drains and gutters to prevent flooding in the country.
He said the group aimed to ensure that drains, gutters and greenbelts in cities and towns were kept clean to avoid flooding during rainfalls.