Roads ministry to bridge funding gap in road construction
The Ministry of Roads and Highways is exploring ways by which it can bridge the funding gap in road construction at its 2014 retreat, which is underway in Tamale, the Northern Regional capital.
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The move, according to the sector Minister, Alhaji Amin Amidu Sulemani, has become necessary in view of the prevailing economic situation.
Currently, there is a freeze on the award of new projects as a result of the ministry's indebtedness to its contractors, both local and foreign.
Speaking on the theme: ' Re-aligning the road portfolio to meet key national priorities and adopting strategies to bridge the funding gap", Alhaji Sulemani indicated that there was the need to prioritise road projects such that they impacted on the economic fortunes of the country.
"The focus of the retreat is aimed at taking bold steps to review our portfolio and sector strategies and re-align them to meet national priorities at a time when the funding gap for our projects is increasing, coupled with an ever-widening infrastructure gap of our nation," he stated.
During the year under review, routine maintenance was carried out on 9, 522km of trunk roads, 3, 900km of feeder road network, and 945km on urban roads.
Additionally, periodic maintenance activities were carried out on 120km, 286km and 1, 577km of the trunk, feeder and urban roads, respectively.
Alhaji Sulemani, however, stated that more work was needed to be done to improve road conditions across the length and breadth of the country.
"Indeed, compared to the size of the network, this level of maintenance intervention is inadequate. We need to do more and in a timely manner to protect the investment we have made in the road sector," he stated.
Deal with issues of shoddy work
A member of the Council of State, Alhaji Mohammed Bawa, observed that the high expectations of the general populace for good quality roads that could withstand all weather conditions were reflected in the many complaints about substandard works that were reported in the media.
Alhaji Bawa consequently called for an efficient and judicious use of the resources that the government made available to the sector.
The outgoing Northern Regional Minister, Mr Bede Ziedeng, stated that there was no excuse for engineers and contractors to execute shoddy work, adding that it was important for people in charge of the sector to discharge their duties and responsibilities diligently.
The retreat was being held in Tamale at a time when there was some chaos in parts of the city but, Mr Ziedeng assured participants of their safety.
He said the violence was confined to a particular place, and it was being handled accordingly.