Ashaiman roads will be fixed – Sulemani

The Minister of Roads and Highways, Alhaji Amin Amidu Sulemani, has assured the people of Ashaiman of the government’s commitment to fix the roads in the community.

Alhaji Sulemani, who gave the assurance after an inspection tour of the roads on Wednesday, July 4, 2013, therefore, asked the people to be patient with the government as it mobilised resources to execute the projects.

Irate youth in Ashaiman last week went on a violent demonstration in protest against what they described as bad roads in the township.

The inspection, according to the minister, was to ascertain the extent of the deterioration of the roads.

He was accompanied by the Chief Director at the ministry, Dr Daniel Darku; the Director of Urban Roads, Mr Abass Awolu, and other directors.

Ironically, work was ongoing on all the roads that Alhaji Sulemani and his directors from the Department of Urban Roads (DUR) inspected, but the Member of Parliament for the area, Alfred Kwame Agbesi, indicated that the works had delayed and that had resulted in the recent riots.

Drainage works have for instance been completed on the Roman, Agric, and Akofa roads, and some portions have been gravelled.

Alhaji Sulemani indicated that the Ashaiman roads would be tackled gradually, as it would be done alongside demands from other parts of the country.

Earlier, a deputy director of the DUR, Mr DeGrafft Afful, had stated that the DUR had carried out a lot of work in the municipality.

The Ashaiman Municipality is one of the 10 districts in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Its capital is Ashaiman. The district was among the new districts and municipalities created in 2008 by former President John Kufuor. It was inaugurated on February 29, 2008.

Mr Afful indicated that when the DUR took over the roads infrastructure of the area, after it had been elevated to a municipality status, there were no drains, so it decided to concentrate its efforts on building all the drains, which would help reduce flooding.

“More so, we cannot build the roads without the drains,” he added.

Mr Agbesi expressed confidence in Alhaji Sulemani to have the Ashiaman roads rehabilitated. He said although they had had several promises in the past, which were not delivered, he was hopeful that this it would be a different this time round.

He advised the people of Ashiaman to be patient, adding that riots and demonstrations were not the solution to the problem.

By Naa Lamiley Bentil/Daily Graphic/Ghana

Writer’s email: [email protected]